Stories of a lifetime Kate McGregor's story
by MrAndMrsMulholland
Summary: This is the story on how Kate became Chief of Navy. Kate and her family, colleagues and friends look back on a great career.
1. Lieutenant Commander 1

Sydney, June 1, 2044

_Kate, dressed in her navy whites for the last time in her professional career, walked into the auditorium of the Royal Australian Navy headquarters. She was escorted towards a row of chairs by the new Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Murray. Her family was already sitting there and looking anxiously for her arrival. _

_It was the day she was going to retire and her friends, colleagues and family had organised this day especially for her. Only yesterday she had handed over her duties of Chief of Navy to Murray, a man she had known for a long time. Just like herself he had risen through the ranks at a faster pace than anyone else. She knew she could safely put the running of the navy into his hands and still she felt a sense of loss already._

_While she walked the distance from the door to her assigned chair a loud applause erupted. Kate was a bit embarrassed by all the attention she got. In the past couple of years she had given a lot of speeches to large groups of people and she had always entered the room during loud applause, but this was different. These were her mates, people she knew and people who knew her personally._

_From the corner of her eyes she saw Pete Tomaszweski, Dylan Mulholland and Andy Thorpe. Three men she had known for almost forty years. They smiled when she looked their way and Kate knew right away they had something planned._

_In another row were sitting friends she had met in more recent years; Annette Trittenheim and Alexander Young, both looking around proudly as if they hadn't expected to be invited to this exclusive party._

_Finally Kate reached her chair and sat down next to her husband, giving him a quick kiss before taking his hand into her lap. He probably had a lot to do with all of this; she could tell by the mischievous smile on his face. Her children had the same kind of smile but they didn't let her know what they knew. She just had to sit down and wait._

_Vice Admiral Murray climbed up the stage and waited for the sounds to die before he looked at the grey haired man sitting next to Kate. "Good afternoon everyone and, of course, Admiral McGregor," Murray said, making eye-contact with Kate. "Today we're gathered here to say farewell to one of the navy's finest officers. She has inspired many people, including myself, and helped us to become better sailors."_

_Murray chuckled. "I could tell you many inspirational stories about this woman, the first ever female Chief of Navy, but I'll refrain from that and let others tell you how one woman has become such an inspiration."_

_He spoke with determination. "The first one to tell you a bit is her husband of twenty-six years. This was his idea and he'll lead us through a life full of great moments. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Mr McGregor," he joked._

_Kate squeezed her husband's hand and whispered in his ear: "I knew it. I knew you were up to something." _

_He simply smiled and patted her hand before standing up and walking up the stage. He thanked Murray and then tapped the microphone a few times. _

"_This sight is wonderful. All these white uniforms, all these people belonging to an institution which my wife led for years. It makes me proud I once belonged to this 'gang'," he said, making quotation marks with his hands. _

_By now Murray had found his chair and was seated. He could officially start. _

"_Contrary to what Vice Admiral Murray said my name isn't McGregor, although you probably picked up on his joke. For everyone who doesn't know me my name is Robert Prizeman and I've known Kate McGregor for oh," he pretended to think for a second, "about thirty years, of which she's been my wife for twenty-six," he continued. _

_Quickly he looked at Kate and gave her a loving smile. _

"_Don't you give away all our secrets," she suddenly said out loud, which caused a ripple of laughter from the people around her. _

_Robert laughed and shook his head._

"_I won't dear," he teased her before he addressed the rest of the people again. "My wife is scared I'm going to tell you all kinds of embarrassing secrets but I wouldn't dare," he mused. _

"_The first time I met her was on a frigate. I was working there as a doctor and she was my patient. She was dehydrated, underfed and exhausted, but there was a determination in her that wouldn't give up. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't recognise that will power back then, but luckily for me I met her again a few years after that. With her determination she won me," he joked. He could see Kate rolling her eyes. "I promise you I won't tell them how you did it," he promised._

"_You better not," she threatened teasingly. "Because if you do I'll send a few frigates…" she started but Robert didn't let her finish. "May I remind you you're not the boss anymore," he laughed. _

_People in the audience laughed and Robert waited until the laughter had died._

"_To be serious again. It's that determination that helped her to pursue her dream of becoming Chief of Navy and brought her here today. I recognised it early on in our marriage and left the navy myself so she could rise through the ranks. Seeing her here, seeing all of you here, I know I made the right decision back then," he stated. _

_Robert saw people nod. It hadn't been a hard decision but every once in a while he felt sorry he didn't belong to the navy himself anymore. Everyone here, with a few exceptions, were navy. _

_Before he would turn sad he shook his head and looked at a blonde man. "Commander Mulholland, can I invite you to come and tell my favourite story. The story of how I met my wife," he said with a trace of a smile filtering through._

_Dylan Mulholland walked up the stage and took over the stand. He adjusted the microphone before he started. "Kate, I know you are a private person who doesn't like all her secrets being told. I'm going to tell this story anyway because it taught me a few things. Like Robert said there was the determination, but you also taught me that having a family doesn't stop you or anyone from giving one hundred per cent effort to the job. Even if it means you get yourself into a pickle," he added, looking only at her as if they were having a private conversation._

_But then he looked up to all the others and continued: "I'm going to tell you a story from my time as a Lieutenant when Kate was my CO on the HMAS Hammersley. It was February nineteenth 2015, a day I'll never forget."_


	2. Lieutenant Commander 2

**Lieutenant Commander McGregor**

Arafura Sea, February nineteenth 2015

"Kate don't you trust me?" Dutchy dared to ask.

"It has nothing to do with trust Dutchy. In this case I simply can't ask you to do this boarding," Kate stated while she walked away from her XO, making it clear the discussion was over. She walked towards the boarding room and tried to focus on the task ahead.

Navcom had sent them towards the Tovalu islands to pick up the last two Australians.

The region had been very quiet for a couple of years. The neighbouring country of the Samaru islands had caused tension almost ten years earlier. After the coup had been stopped the peace and quiet had returned, but for the last couple of months it seemed that rebels on the Tovalu islands had gained more sympathy from its civilians and the government had a hard time controlling the country. In just a month the rebels had gained power on several islands and were now close to the capital city. Most foreign embassies had pulled their people out of the country.

Australia had sent a military plane to pick up the last persons but on returning home it was discovered that two were missing. For a few days they were presumed missing or even dead until they were able to reach a small village where they contacted their home country.

The Hammersley had already been tasked to patrol the waters around Tovalu because many people tried to flee the country while they could. They tried to get to countries like Australia. Most of them were true refugees but under the fleeing people were a lot of other people like drugs smugglers who tried to flock their goods abroad. The Hammersley had come across several small boats, hardly sea worthy, packed to the rafters with people. Right this minute they had the maximum number of refugees on board and they had been on their way to bring them to a safe haven when Navcom had tasked them to pick up the last two Australians. Kate had no other option but to return to Tovalu and get them out.

It was a risky operation. The Tovaluan government had made it clear for everyone to stay out and the rebels didn't trust anyone. Kate knew that if the government or the rebels found out, there could be a big international incident, but she had no choice. She couldn't leave two Australians behind; she had to get in and rescue them.

The man and woman had been able to state their location and were told to go to the nearest inlet where they had to wait for the Hammersley to pick them up. The problem was that they had used an open channel on the radio and anyone could have listened in during the conversation. There was a possibility that they were going to meet resistance from the government, the rebels, or worse; both. Kate couldn't ask anyone else but herself to do this boarding where she would go ashore and guide the two embassy workers to safety.

Kate looked at Dutchy who was following her towards the boarding room. By the way he walked and how he looked back at her she knew he didn't agree with her decision.

"I'm your XO. By rights I should lead this boarding," he protested.

Kate remembered these kind of conversations from her own time as XO and secretly had to suppress a chuckle, but today there was no time for throat ripping debates. They were near the landing site and the RHIB needed to get going any minute. Swiftly she turned around and faced Dutchy.

"X, I've decided. I'm leading this boarding."

She paused and took a deep breath to give Dutchy the order to go up to the bridge when he opened his mouth and quickly asked: "What about James?"

Kate turned pale and was momentarily dumbfounded.

"Leave him out of this discussion," she stated harshly.

Dutchy frowned. "But what if something _does_ go wrong?"

He ignored her latest order. "What if you get…"

He didn't even dare to pronounce the words but Kate knew he meant 'get killed'. She had learned to keep her personal life out of the decision making process but with his name lingering in her ears Kate couldn't do anything else but think about her three year old son, James Roth.

Dutchy wanted to continue but Kate shot him an angry glare which stopped him immediately.

"X!" Kate said shutting him up completely. "Go up to the bridge. Monitor the situation on the EOD. I want to know every movement on land," she ordered.

Dutchy left without saying another word and Kate continued getting ready for the boarding.

It was broad daylight. Anyone could have seen the patrol boat coming so there was no time to wait for nightfall when it would be safer. Everyone in the RHIB knew about the dangers but they tried not to think about it and just do their job. They had almost reached the inlet where the two embassy workers would be. If they weren't there they all had a huge problem since there was no time for a plan B. It was simple; if they missed this pick up they were on their own.

Kate looked around at the group of people in the RHIB. Charge and 2Dads were sitting up front. Bird and Able Seaman Cook were just behind the men and Halfy was driving the RHIB. She was glad to have them in her team and she knew she could trust them. Now, if she could trust those two embassy workers to be ready it would be even better. Not only the lives of the embassy workers were on the line but also their own. If the soldiers, or the rebels, found out what they were doing they all could be in lots of trouble.

"Dutchy," Kate almost whispered in her radio. "Update," she ordered.

She didn't need many words for her XO to understand what she wanted. He had become a valuable navy asset and, although they had throat ripping debates, she didn't want to think about the day he would leave Hammersley.

"We can spot movement near the inlet but can't determine who it is. They're at two o'clock from your current position," Dutchy answered.

Kate took her binoculars and tried to see the movement for herself at the indicated place. With a nod she made a decision about how to handle the situation.

"We'll land on the beach. Have your weapons at the ready and watch each other's back," she instructed.

She knew she didn't actually have to do this but for good measure she looked every member of the boarding team in the eye anyway.

"Yes boss," was the almost simultaneous reply from the others.

They neared the landing and two persons came running out of the bushes. Everyone was relieved when they looked like the embassy workers. Kate jumped out of the RHIB and scanned the area before she walked towards the man and woman.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander McGregor of the Australian Navy. We'll have to hurry up and get back to the ship," she told them in a whispered tone. "I'm Nigel Cole and this is…"

"We'll do the formal introductions back on board if you don't mind," Kate cut him off.

2Dads had joined them and started guiding the woman towards the RHIB. Nigel either hadn't understood the hint or was so relieved that, by the end of his adventure, he kept on telling what he had seen and gone through in the past few days.

"You wouldn't believe it Mrs, oh sorry I didn't get your name. Is it Mrs or is it Miss?" he tried to read Kate's name tag. "Well, we were in this village and while we were there a group of rebels came through. They had those huge machetes and automatic weapons. We hid behind one of the houses and…" he rambled on but Kate stopped him.

"Later," she cut him off again as she ushered him towards the RHIB.

Still a bit reluctantly Nigel moved in the right direction. He kept looking backwards as if he was going to continue his story but Kate ignored him and looked at the woman who was helped onto the RHIB by Bird and Cook. Close by 2Dads and Charge were covering her by searching the bushes and being ready to fire.

Suddenly lots of sounds were heard and when Kate quickly looked around she saw four armed men appear from the scrubs. The surprise on her colleague's faces was apparent. They hadn't noticed anyone before and needed a few seconds to react to this new situation. Kate herself tried to guide Nigel towards the RHIB but he had frozen and wasn't moving at all. She herself had moved quickly and was a few meters away from him already.

The four, wild looking men who looked like they had been living in the wilderness for too long, were spreading on the beach. Instinctively Kate put her hand on her gun but before she could reach it and turn around to grab Nigel the men had already reached him and pushed him down in the sand.

From the corner of her eye Kate saw Charge taking control around the RHIB. She knew he couldn't shoot any of the four men or she would be killed in return.

Two men were holding Nigel to the ground now, and two were taking up strategic positions. It was clear these men were trained and knew what they were doing. As quick as she could Kate tried to come up with a solution to their problem. She was standing in between the RHIB and Nigel. She was too far away to get into the RHIB or talk to her colleagues about what to do next and she was too far away to do anything for Nigel. She hated these kind of situations but she wasn't one to do nothing. Without putting too much attention on herself she tried to get her gun out. She had put it back when she had gotten on land to help Nigel and the woman, but now she wished she had kept it in her hands.

"Let him go," 2Dads yelled, looking at Nigel who had turned into a pile of mush.

Kate had her fingers almost around her weapon when one of the rebels pointed his gun at her head.

"Kate!" Charge yelled.

"No," was the only thing the rebel said, looking quickly at her thigh.

"You. On ground," he ordered her.

Kate thought he meant she had to get rid of her gun but she would never give him the gun unless she really had to.

"On ground," he ordered her again as he came a step closer.

"We only want to take the man and leave," Kate said, quickly pointing at Nigel.

The rebel shook his head and pointed at her. "Ground," he almost barked.

Kate straightened her back and was not planning on following his orders, even though he still had his gun pointed at her head. If he had really wanted to kill her she would have been dead by now so she wasn't scared. He was trying to intimidate her and she wouldn't let him.

"Let us go home and we'll be out of your way," Kate argued with him.

"You. Ground," he barked again, this time letting his gun down but pushing her hard. She had the hardest time not to lose her balance, but when she didn't fall the rebel pushed and pushed until she did and made her land on her back down in the sand. To show her he had won this battle he placed his boot on her chest and laughed.

"I speak to leader," the man said, looking at Charge.

Kate saw that Charge was the only one left on the beach. The others all had been able to get onto the RHIB. The boot was hurting her more than she wanted to admit and all she could do was rely on Charge and his years of experience.

"I speak to leader," the rebel repeated his request, thinking Charge would be the man he was looking for.

"I am," Kate responded, to which the man started laughing, looking at his friends like he wanted to say: 'Do you believe her? I don't.'

Of course he didn't believe her. Kate couldn't even blame him. She had been the only one of navy personnel to be off guard and let herself get in this embarrassing position.

"No, leader of boat," the man spoke, pointing towards the sea. The Hammersley wasn't visible from the beach, but the rebel seemed to know exactly in which direction he had to look.

"I am," Kate said again. "I am Lieutenant Commander McGregor, commander of the Hammersley," she said before the man either started laughing again or challenged that she was who she said she was.

He looked at his friends before he looked at Kate again. He said something in his own language which Kate couldn't understand but by the tone he used she could guess he was mocking her, making fun of this woman, pretending to be the leader who was now eating sand. To show her he had total control of her he twisted his boot in her chest

"You funny," the rebel said sarcastically.

Kate turned her face towards Nigel Cole. Even pinned down to the ground she had the responsibility to get him safely to the Hammersley. "I am the commander. I'll stand up and then we'll talk," she said trying to push herself up.

"You not stand," the rebel pushed her back. "We not talk. I tell you boss I take him," he said without looking at Nigel. "You boss? You tell boat go way," he dared her.

Kate looked at Nigel. He was as white as a sheet and shitting seven colours all at once. "We want to take him and leave," Kate stated her intentions but in return she felt the boot harshly pressed between her breasts, so hard it became almost impossible to breathe. "No," the rebel said threateningly. "He steal. He not go."

"Let him go," Kate heard Charge say while Nigel protested: "I didn't steal."

Suddenly the situation started to escalate. The leader of the men, the one pinning Kate to the ground, made one step towards Nigel which made it possible for Kate to get up and see what was going on.

"I'll pay for the food. I didn't mean to steal," Nigel defended himself.

The two men, standing next to him, pulled him up and started dragging him back towards the scrubs, slowly followed by the man who had pinned Kate to the ground.

Kate knew she had to do something quickly or it would end badly for him. She had already gotten on her feet and quietly pulled out her gun so she could use it if necessary. The rebel must have noticed her movement but he didn't stop her. He was too preoccupied with Nigel who had started to look through his pockets to find money all the while repeating: "I'll pay. I'll pay "

Kate hated men like Nigel Cole. They broke the law abroad either willingly or not, and expected the navy to get them out of strife. He seemed like a man who wasn't too smart, but he had to have some brains otherwise how could he have gotten his job at the embassy?

"Please let me go home," Nigel pleaded. Kate looked at the two men and started to worry. It was evident they weren't going to let him go. It didn't matter what the reason was. She needed to handle the situation quickly before things started to get ugly. Those men were toying with Mr Cole, probably until he made one wrong move which would be used to justify killing him.

Kate moved a few steps in the direction of the rebels so she was in a better position to take one of those men out, if necessary. She kept an eye on the rebel who had pinned her to the ground earlier. It seemed weird for him to lose sight of her, but he didn't seem to be looking at her at all. Too late Kate realised he still _was_. She had pointed her gun at him and was about to shoot when he turned around and kicked up his leg, hitting her wrist and making her swerve. For a second time she lost her balance and ended up in the sand, her gun out of reach.

A cacophony of sounds erupted. As Charge and 2Dads yelled instructions, the nameless woman screamed, the four native men all started yelling until Mr Cole yelped and then got shot.

Kate didn't want to look but when she did look the other way she saw the leader standing close to her. She couldn't get away from him and not much later she looked up at him and he had his foot planted on her belly.

"You go," he signalled to Charge and the others.

"We can't leave without her," Charge replied. He shouldn't have done that because Kate saw how the man pointed the gun at her head and removed the safety pin. At the last second he aimed next to her head and shot. "One bullet in sand. Two bullet in head," he said.

"Please Charge, go!" Kate said, although she wondered how much she had actually voiced.

"Kate? We can't…" Charge said but Kate cut him off.

"Go," she ordered.

She knew for sure he must have heard that single word which was followed by some movement and then the sounds of a running motor. The rebel held his gun aimed at her while they heard the RHIB leave. Whatever was going to happen next, it would be dangerous.

Now that the RHIB was gone the man removed his foot from her body. Kate sat up and looked at the sea. The RHIB was still visible but they couldn't do much. She was on her own now, surrounded by four rebels.

_Were they rebels or were they army guys?_ Kate wondered. Not that it mattered much, she was screwed anyway, but she knew the current government didn't like foreign interference. They had been quite clear about that but the rebels, they were against their own government. Could she have a better chance with them being rebels? Kate looked at the four men, who were standing not far away from her position. One of them picked up Nigel by the arms and dragged his body away from the beach. They were talking to each other but it wasn't understandable to Kate.

She didn't know what to do. All she could do was stay alive and find a way home. Getting killed because she did something stupid had to be prevented. Not too far away from her, her gun was laying in the sand. Picking it up wouldn't be the smartest move and the guy who had kicked it away would know about it too, or had he forgotten? What was wiser; leaving it at the beach, not knowing who would find it or letting these rebels know, knowing for sure she lost it but at least knowing _who_ had it?

The guy had finished talking to his mates and came walking back towards her. With a swift move he picked up the gun and twirled it around his finger before tucking it in his pants. _That's one question answered,_ Kate thought. The next question arose instantly: what would they do to her? She was a female, surrounded by four men who clearly didn't think much of women in general, let alone women in the navy. The rebel pulled her up by her vest. Kate felt a cold shiver go down her spine, fearing he would strip her and rape her before he would kill her.

"Please," she uttered. She hadn't realised it but she was scared. The man looked at her garment and attributes before plucking at several things.

The glow stick and pens were thrown down in the sand. The radio was disconnected from the headset before the man put the radio in his pocket. Next he stripped her of the torch and baton. He probably didn't think she needed her helmet as well nor her headset. Strangely enough he didn't strip her of her vest and Kevlar. When he was done he said something to his friends before starting pushing Kate towards the scrubs. "Walk," was all he said.


	3. Lieutenant Commander 3

Dutchy had seen everything that had happened on the beach. He was angry. Angry with those men for killing an innocent man. Angry with the boarding party for not anticipating better to what could happen. Angry with Kate for getting herself in exactly the situation she had said would not happen, but most of all angry with himself for not fighting Kate harder or being able to do something for her when she was still on the beach.

He had seen the four rebels guide Kate into the bush, away from civilisation. Charge had called in as soon as the RHIB was a safe way away from the beach. They had the responsibility for the embassy worker and couldn't lose her as well.

They brought the woman to the Hammersley before returning to the beach. The rebels had long gone and Charge and 2Dads hadn't been able to pick up a trail to follow. After a long consideration they had decided to return home and face the music. With the various items from Kate's attire and the dead body of Mr Cole picked up from the beach the boarding party had come back on board but hadn't said one single word. Their CO had been taken hostage; a respected friend and someone who they all looked up to. It felt empty and cold on the Hammersley with Kate missing.

Dutchy felt terrible since he didn't know what was going to happen now. Kate was in the hands of rebels. They had taken her along for a reason, but what that reason was wasn't clear yet. All they could do was keep an eye on the island, make sure no one was to leave or enter it. They would go back and comb the island until Kate was found.

He would love to get that assignment or at least be part of if, but he was standing in front of Mike's desk and waited for him to finish reading the reports of their mission. The Hammersley would most likely stay in port now her CO wasn't present. Mike probably would hold him, Dutchy, responsible for her disappearance even though it wasn't all his fault. He had tried to convince Kate not to go on the mission and let him go instead. He had warned her, but she had told him off. He had put it in his reports, but was it enough?

Mike read the last words and put the paper down to look at Dutchy. He should yell at him, tell him he was useless and up for a captain's table, but he couldn't do that because it wouldn't be fair nor did he have the energy to do so. All his energy went into worrying about Kate. It had been more than a day since she had been taken and still there had been not a sign of life or a message from the rebels to let them know what they wanted. He was scared to get a message he didn't want to hear. They had to do everything to get Kate back and rather sooner than later.

"Sir, please let me help look for her," Dutchy pleaded.

Mike must have thought along similar lines but sending him out wasn't something he was eager to do. "I need you here," he replied, almost knowing Dutchy would fight it.

"I feel partly responsible for this situation. I want to be part of the team to set things right," Dutchy explained.

"You will," Mike stated. "You're going to be responsible for James Roth. The boy can go to day care during the day but outside working hours you will be responsible. You're not responsible for Kate's abduction and you'll help her more by taking away one of her sorrows. She'll be grateful to hear you were there when she couldn't be," he said, finally looking the Lieutenant in the eye.

"Sir, as the boy's godfather I know I've got a responsibility towards him, but I'd rather look for Kate myself and let James stay with his grandparents so that…" Dutchy started but Mike cut him off.

"They're going on a trip to Europe. They've tried to get James to come with them, to get him away from all the commotion here, but they can't take him. As his godfather you need to take over. We've got two frigates keeping tabs on Tovalu. The best thing you can do now is take care of James."

Dutchy knew it was futile to fight the decision so he sighed in defeat and nodded. James was a great kid who didn't ask much of you, but what was he going to say in the future when not only his dad but also his mother had been killed and his godfather was partly to blame for that?

"The reports are complete and in order. Go home and take care of the little one. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something," Mike ordered. Dutchy saluted and left the office, already thinking of what he was going to do. He had to trust his colleagues to find Kate as soon as they could and bring her home where she belonged.


	4. Lieutenant Commander 4

Kate walked through the thick bushes, knowing she would never find her way back to the beach on her own. The men probably had thought the same since they didn't rope her around a tree or something similar when they stopped for the night. They simply put her down and started making a small fire. They even gave her something to eat. The next morning the improvised campsite was returned back to the way it looked before and the group, and their prisoner, moved on deeper into the rainforest. Kate had stopped thinking about escaping or even for a rescue party sent from the Hammersley to come and find her. She just looked at what was right in front of her, and as long as the men didn't physically hurt her she was fine.

At the end of the second day they reached a small village. Kate was tired and hoped this was going to be the end of their trip. She was hungry and thirsty and although she wasn't sure she was going to be given anything she could at least take off some of her garment. Ever since they had left the beach she had be wearing her full navy uniform plus Kevlar and vest. She had given up trying figuring out why she was still wearing those, although she could come up with a few reasons. Whatever the real reason was, it didn't matter.

Kate looked around the few houses that formed this village. It was really quiet and it didn't look like there were any people present until the leader made some sort of bird call, then a door opened and a few men came walking out. They greeted the four men wholeheartedly and didn't take much notice of the extra woman they had brought along. Finally, after all the greetings and first stories, they turned towards Kate. One of the villagers walked up to her and moved until he was mere centimetres away from her.

"You are our prisoner now," he said in fluent English. Kate was so surprised that she didn't know how to respond to that. "We might let you go home if your country promises to leave us alone," he added. Kate swallowed. If that was the demand to be met she could be a 'prisoner' for a long time.

The best thing for her to do now was to show him she wasn't intimidated by his little speech. If they wanted to trade her for these conditions they would have to take care of her, at least give her some food and water to keep her alive. As a _prisoner_ she wouldn't have a carefree life but she would stay alive until her own government had reached an agreement with these men so she straightened her back and wiped a few strains of hair out of her face.

"Those are stiff conditions to be met, but I'm sure they'll seriously consider it if they get the assurance you'll let me go unharmed," Kate bluffed.

"They better take it seriously," the man replied sharply.

She looked him in his eyes to figure out what he had meant by his words. Was he being cynical or not? She couldn't tell by the tone of his voice, until he continued: "If they don't think we're serious, you'll pay the price. Your life means nothing to us." Before Kate was able to reply to the threat she was being pushed into one of the houses.

Inside it looked like a modern mansion with all the luxury available; radios, scanners, computers, TVs, DVDs, everything you could think of was there. This wasn't something she had expected but the man seemed to think this was normal. In one of the corners there was a desk, covered in papers, where he started rummaging. Whatever he was looking for it wasn't easily found because he opened and closed several drawers before it started to irritate him. Frustrated he pushed a drawer back into the desk and turned his eye to Kate. When he saw her looking around he walked up to her and pushed and shoved her into a corner.

"Don't look," he yelled.

Kate didn't know what else to do but didn't want to aggravate him even more so she looked at her shoes.

He had come so close to her that she could smell his body odour. If she thought she herself stank from wearing the same clothes for two days she was mistaken. She nearly passed out when he raised his arm, in order to hit her, which had made her face his armpit. Kate turned her face away and closed her eyes but was then surprised when he didn't hit her but started pulling at her life vest. It was such a sudden move that she had to grab his arms to be able to keep standing. He pushed her away from him but there was nowhere to go in the corner. The only way to protect her from him was to curl up and make herself as small as possible. The fact that she made loosening her vest even more difficult now aggravated him even more.

At her vest he pulled her back up on her feet before he put his hand around her throat and made her look at him.

"Stand still," he yelled.

For a second he observed her vest and then pulled down the zipper on the front. Without much consideration for Kate he yanked her vest off her body before he did the same with the Kevlar. Both were thrown on the floor near the desk where he continued his search as if nothing had happened.

Kate, strangely enough, longed for the Kevlar which was about a meter away from her. It had given her a false sense of security which was now taken away from her. She kept looking at it until the man let out a joyous shriek: "Akhirnya! Itu ada." Whatever it meant it didn't matter but when Kate looked at him he had a camcorder in one hand and a small gun in the other which alarmed her greatly.

"Please," she uttered, thinking this was the end. "Please don't kill me. I'll do whatever you want but please don't…" she couldn't finish her sentence because he pressed the barrel of the gun against her lips. "Yes you don't want to be killed, I heard you," he almost jokingly said.

The fact that she was tired and emotionally rundown made it hard for her to hold back a sob and tears were burning in the corners of her eyes. Why did she have to breakdown in front of this man? All the way through the jungle she had kept it together and up until she lost the Kevlar everything seemed fine, under the circumstances of course. Why did losing a piece of plastic make her so weak?

"You stand there," the man pointed with his gun towards one of the walls. "You're going to tell your bosses what we want in return of your freedom. When I'm done I'll send it off and from that point you can pray they react swiftly," he said before he put the gun down and pointed the camcorder towards Kate.

She swallowed a few times and straightened her uniform before she looked into the camera. "Should I begin?" she asked. The man only nodded and pointed at the red button which was flashing. "Oh," Kate sighed, realising he had already started filming. "Well, I'm Lieutenant Commander Kate McGregor and I'm being held hostage by insurgents of the Tovaluan islands. In return for my release they want all Australian interference to end," Kate said.

"And if not we will kill her," the man said without turning the camcorder.

As soon as he was finished he turned it off and pushed Kate towards the door. They walked towards one of the smaller huts where he opened the door before pushing Kate inside.

"Now start hoping they want you back," he said before shutting the door and leaving her alone.


	5. Lieutenant Commander 5

Mike was sitting behind his desk, pretending to work hard, but he couldn't keep his mind on his work at all. He read the last memo for the seventh time and still he couldn't recall what it was about. Almost two full days had passed since Kate had disappeared into the jungle of Tovalu. He had seen the EOD tapes from the Hammersley and had studied them, but much to his chagrin he couldn't fault anyone's actions. Kate had done the right thing to protect the man but had been overpowered by one of the rebels. That man had outsmarted all of them, but Mike couldn't see what else anyone could have done to save the situation.

When he had first heard of her abduction he thought she would be a prisoner of war, but for that to be true there had to be some sort of communication. They should state what they wanted in return of a navy officer but so far they had received nothing! Slowly Mike started to fear Kate had been taken for another reason. He didn't want to think of Kate's lifeless body, thrown in a shallow grave, beaten and abused. A shiver went down his spine and he had to shake his head to lose the horrible thought. While he did so he heard the sound of an incoming e-mail. The last thing he wanted right now was to be bothered with more work, but it was a welcome distraction from his thoughts. Quickly Mike looked at the mail address to see who had granted him the diversion, but the address wasn't one he recognised. The subject made him shiver even more; 'We've got her'.

Mike didn't know how fast he had to open the mail. There was a long list of requirements but Mike didn't read them, just gave it a look over and went straight to the bottom of the mail, hoping there would be a picture or any proof they were talking about the same person. There wasn't a picture but there was a video attached. With a double click he opened it and saw Kate appear. First it was a full body shot but the person handling the camera zoomed in pretty quickly to show a tired face asking: "Should I begin?"

She looked tired and dirty. Kate had several smears of dried mud on her face and uniform but that didn't matter because she was alive! For a second she looked straight into the camera, although she probably was looking at the person behind it. "Oh," she sighed, realising the filming had already started. "Well, I'm Lieutenant Commander Kate McGregor and I'm being held hostage by insurgents of the Tovaluan islands," she took a deep breath before she continued: "In return for my release they want all Australian interference to end." She swallowed, almost wondering if she had said enough and then Mike heard: "And if not we will kill her." Before he could see Kate's reaction the camera was turned off.

Mike looked at the black screen in front of him and was happy and angry at the same time. Kate was alive and looked reasonably well, but whoever was holding her was willing to kill her if the conditions weren't met. In the mail there were a lot more information and then it was signed with 'General Itampati'.

He didn't care about the long list. Mike wanted to look at the video again. There had to be more. Maybe Kate had been able to give him a sign or if he looked closely he could tell a bit more about where she was right now but after he watched it several times he had to conclude Kate hadn't enclosed a scripted message and she was inside a wooden building with little light. Quickly he copied it onto his laptop and forwarded the message to the Brass. They were the ones who had to deal with the Tovaluan army.

It wasn't protocol but Mike decided to go over to Malcolm and Terry Roth anyway to show them the video. If they ever caught him he would face the music at that point but they were about to leave for the airport and if he was quick enough he could still catch them. So far he had kept them up to date even though there had been no news. With this image of their daughter-in-law they could possible enjoy at least part of their holiday.

He drove to the nice villa, just out of Cairns, where he was greeted by Terry.

"Mike," she said, her voice unsure if he was bringing good or bad news. "You didn't have to travel all the way up here. You could have called us," she said, putting a suitcase in the back of the car.

Mike walked up to her and greeted her with a kiss before he said anything. "There is news, isn't there?" Terry asked a bit more anxious now.

"Yes," Mike answered simply. "Is Malcolm at home? I've got to show you something," he explained.

Terry guided Mike towards the living area where Malcolm was sitting down in his easy chair. On his lap he had James who was reading a book to his grandfather. The toddler hadn't noticed the company and continued explaining what he was seeing on the pictures in the book. "That's a ship gramps," he explained proudly. "It's mummy's ship, the Hamwusyee."

"Darling," Terry almost whispered to her husband. "Commander Flynn has some news for us." Terry walked up to him and wanted to take James off his lap, but the little boy didn't agree.

"No! Gran!" he whined. "I was weading the book," he continued while he looked at the object, now in his grandmother's hands.

"James, look who's here," she tried to divert his attention, pointing in Mike's direction.

"Uncle Mike!" he yelled, happily. He ran towards Mike to greet him but then, suddenly, he stopped. "Gran say uncly Dusshy is coming. Is Dusshy sick?" he wondered.

Mike smiled and shook his head. "No matey, I'm here to wish your grandparents a good trip. Dutchy will be here later on I think. Could you play on your own for a bit while I show gran and gramps something?" Mike asked. He looked at Malcolm now who got up from his chair. "What is it?" he asked since he didn't know what Mike was doing here.

"Big guy, can you stay here? Gramps, Uncle Mike and I will be in the study for a little while. If there's something you can call us, OK?" Terry instructed the little boy.

Mike saw how James picked up one of his toys and started playing. He was an adorable little kid and was going to be a very handsome young man one day. He had his father's shape face but was just as blonde as his mother, a perfect mixture. Mike loved looking after him and the few times he had been granted a full day with James had been very successful. It gave Kate some space to do something on her own or with friends and James loved getting the attention from others.

"Do you have any news?" Malcolm whispered. He looked at James to see if he had heard what was being said but the boy was absorbed in the book he had been reading before.

"I received an e-mail. It was send this afternoon. She's alive," Mike simply said. It was enough information for the Roths to look at each other and smile. "They filmed her. Nothing spectacular but I wanted to show you before you're away on your holidays," he explained.

Terry had tears in her eyes and leaned against Malcolm. "This is great news and you couldn't have brought it at a better time. It feels so strange going away at this point," she said, about to explain, but Mike stopped her. "We know how you've tried to cancel or to take James with you but do try to enjoy the cruise as much as you can. Kate will be back soon, I just know it," he voiced his hope.

"Thank you," Terry whispered, looking at Mike's bag which held his laptop.

"He still doesn't know?" Mike asked, looking in James' direction. He couldn't see the boy but Terry knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Kate's gone more often. He still thinks she's away at sea and will come back soon and we think it's best if he keeps thinking that," she explained.

Mike couldn't agree more. Why scare the boy with knowledge he couldn't understand. It would only distress him and with his grandparents away as well there were enough changes for him to cope with. He was glad though to be able to show the little bit of footage of Kate and it clearly did the two persons good to see Kate alive and well.

"She looks tired," Terry observed.

"A bit scared and unsure, but who'd blame her?" Malcolm added.

"Look, it was taken earlier today. There's a date in the corner of the video!" Terry said while she pointed at the screen.

"You're right," Mike replied. He hadn't seen it before.

He looked at Kate again and saw her eyes. She did look a bit scared and unsure but he also saw the power to fight. _Hold on Kate. We'll come and get you. Don't you worry,_ he thought.


	6. Lieutenant Commander 6

Three nights in a row Kate was left alone in the hut. During the day the leader would bring her a plate of plain rice and a bottle of water but for most of the time he would leave her alone. The first time he had come by Kate had hoped he would tell her there was a reaction, but when by the second day there was still nothing she ceased giving him a pleading look. The last thing she wanted him to know was that she was getting desperate. The leader would also make sure that the others would leave her alone, even if it was keeping them busy with military actions. The four men who had brought her here were in and out of the camp all the time. There wasn't a moment when everyone was at the camp all at the same time.

The option to run away had crossed her mind. The hut she was sleeping in wasn't locked so she could easily slip away during the night, but it wasn't something she had seriously considered yet. It had taken them two days to get to this camp and she knew for sure she wouldn't be able to find her way back on her own, not even in daytime. She knew she was on an island so whichever way she went she would reach a beach in the end, but what good would that do if these guys would await her there to either bring her back or even worse, kill her. So, the option to run away was quickly discarded. There simply was no other alternative then to sit and wait for a reaction from the Australian government.

Nothing happened.

The rice they had given earlier was still on the plate but she just wasn't hungry, at least not _that_ hungry. It tasted horrible the first time, but she had imagined it was a nice risotto Terry made at home. She was of Italian decent and made the most delicious risottos, all old recipes and homemade of course. After the second day it didn't work anymore. The rice tasted worse than anything she had ever had to eat and just the idea of putting one piece of rice in her mouth made her want to throw up.

Kate had tried to sleep for a bit but sleep wasn't something easy to do in a place like this. Movement in the village had quieted down a few hours ago. The lights in most of the huts had been turned off which meant that the men who were in the village right now were off to sleep. Kate sat against the wall with her legs pulled up tightly against her body and her arms wrapped around them. She looked straight ahead. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and even though she couldn't see anything real, some things were so much clearer now. She loved being in command at the Hammersley and the crew was terrific, but as soon as she was back home she would ask for some time off because there was one person she was definitely going to spend more time with; her three year old son, James Roth.

Kate closed her eyes and smiled, trying to picture him in front of her. He was the spitting image of his father, Jim. A lively little boy who loved running around the house or the beach, and he was smart too. As soon as he saw or heard something new he would absorb it like a sponge. You had to be careful around him because he could give you a blow by blow description of what he had seen days before. Jim's old friends said he had inherited that observant streak from his dad. Kate of course didn't care who he had inherited it from, it could cause very awkward moments when James would repeat something he shouldn't have heard in the first place.

When she was away on patrol James would stay with his paternal grandparents who were more than happy to assist in his upbringing. They had lost a son but gained a daughter-in-law and a grandson. Without them Kate didn't know how she could keep on working as the CO of Hammersley. In the first months after his birth she had had a desk job at Navcom but she was glad to get back to sea when James was a little bit older. Not that she didn't like being around James. He was her everything but her job was a good second in her priorities.

She didn't miss the Hammersley yet but James on the other hand, she missed. She missed his cuddles, his cute voice and all the stuff and drawings he made with his grandma. When she returned she would probably get a huge book filled with her son's productions. Terry, her mother-in-law, was very good at that. In the last three years she had collected a bookshelf full of homemade picture books. The idea of getting one from her happy toddler, probably wrapped in paper with a huge bow on top of it, brought a smile on her face. When she arrived back home she would tell Mike he could stick his planning up his backside but she would spend the first days back home with James. Even Mike, as commander of Navcom, couldn't stop her from doing that. She would greet Terry and open her arms for a running toddler.

Oh no! Terry! She wouldn't be able to bring James to the harbour to pick her up, whenever that would be, because Terry would be on her holiday. Terry and Malcolm had been looking forward to their Mediterranean cruise for months. They were supposed to leave a few days after she herself would have returned from patrol. That meant they had left already! Where would James be? Would Terry and Malcolm still go now she was taken hostage? If they went to Europe where would they bring James?

Kate was hot and cold all at the same time. Her breathing quickened and she couldn't sit still any longer. She had to get away from here and find a way to go home. She had been stupid enough to sit and wait for a few days. As soon as she was on the beach she would start looking for a boat or anything that would be able to get her away from these people. She couldn't sit and wait helplessly until the Australian government showed up, not if there was a little three year old boy waiting for his mother! Kate got up to her feet and looked through the little window. There was no one to see and even the last light had gone out. As quiet as a mouse Kate opened the door and sneaked outside.

The bush was even darker than she had expected but there was no way back now so she kept on walking. It was almost dawn when she just couldn't go any further. Because of exhaustion she started to bump into, and trip over every root and branch she passed. What she needed was a hiding spot where she could rest for a while. It wouldn't be long before they noticed she was gone and would start looking for her. Finally she found a large tree which gave enough shelter and wouldn't expose her straight away. She was so tired that it didn't take her long to fall asleep.


	7. Lieutenant Commander 7

Dutchy looked at his reports of the last mission again. It had been almost six days since they had left Kate on the beach and the end wasn't in sight yet. The Brass was keeping in touch with the Tovaluan army and government but it seemed _they_ didn't even know what they wanted. The man who had made the little video of Kate had been talking for himself and not for the whole government and now the government wanted more than just the departure of Australian ships. There were still two frigates nearby but there had to be something _he_ could do.

He already felt guilty about being the one to return safely home, but now it took a lot longer than anyone had hoped for and more people started asking questions about what had happened, what had gone wrong and how an experienced Lieutenant Commander had been taken hostage. That last question was something Kate would have to face when she got back but it had caused Mike to question _him_ on how it was possible for her to be on the beach when she should have been on board. Mike was scared Kate would face charges and that was something he took out on him.

Dutchy put down the report and picked up the transcript of the EOD tapes. It became harder and harder to read how a man had pinned Kate to the ground and shot a bullet next to her head. He should have prevented it all by fighting Kate harder so that he should have been the one on the beach. There was no guarantee that this wouldn't have happened if he and not Kate had been on the beach but at least she would be at home; here, safe and sound, being the one taking care of James.

In anger he put down the paper and let his fist come down hard on the table. It wasn't fair! James was only three years old, had already lost his father and now his mother was in danger too. Everyone kept saying that they wouldn't kill her because they would lose their trading position but how sure were they? With his eyes closed he tried to let the anger flow out of his body, not that it was helping much. He kept getting images of a bound and gagged Kate, somewhere in the jungle, waiting for him to come and rescue her.

"Dusshy," a little voice pulled him back to reality. Dutchy looked at the door opening where James appeared. "Hey, I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay in bed and sleep until the sun is back," he said sternly while he left the papers on the table and walked towards the boy. He hadn't even reached him when he smelled the reason why the boy had woken up. "Oh Jamesy, Jamesy, you're putting me to the test don't you?" he said before taking the boy's hand and leading him back towards his bedroom.

As soon as James had a clean nappie he wanted to put him back to bed but the same stinky smell came floating towards him the closer he got to it. "You really did your best to wet everything now, didn't you?" he laughed. James simply looked at his bed and shrugged. "You put nappie on wrong way. Mummy do that also and then I peed all in my bed," he explained. Dutchy looked from the boy to the bed and frowned. "Did I put your nappie on the right way this time?" he asked worriedly. James shrugged again and looked at his feet. "Don't know. Mummy said it was on wrong. I think you did it wrong too," he answered.

Hoping the nappie was fixed now, a second problem arose; where would he put James now? He could change the sheets but it would mean James had to wait while he was looking for some clean sheets etcetera. Dutchy made a mental note to put an extra pair of sheets somewhere in the room tomorrow so he never had to look for them again while a little boy wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. "Let's go to…" he started, still not sure where he was going to put James while he fixed the first problem. "I want to seep in mummy's bed," James filled in the blanks. "Can I seep in mummy's bed?" he asked. It was a great idea. He could even let James sleep there the rest of the night and just throw the dirty sheets into the washing machine and worry about making the bed again tomorrow. "Yeah, I don't think mummy would mind you sleeping there," he answered.

James almost stormed into Kate's room and jumped onto the bed. He clearly had done that before and crawled underneath the blanket as if it was his own bed. "Dusshy, this is mummy's bed," James stated proudly. "I know," Dutchy smiled. The logic of toddlers was so endearing. "Mummy is on the boat," James said as a matter of fact. "I know that too James," Dutchy said, trying to stop the boy from getting into a full conversation. "But you really need to go to sleep now," he added. James nodded and put his head down on the pillow to veer back up straight away and look at Dutchy. "Mummy's on the boat and you are here. Were you naughty and mummy say you can't come on the boat?" he asked.

Dutchy feared James would soon realise something wasn't right and if he would do so, wouldn't sleep anymore. "James, put your head back down and close your eyes," he ordered. James laid down but kept his eyes fixed on Dutchy, expecting an answer anyway. "Dusshy," James whispered. "Gran was crying." Dutchy looked away while he heard James continue: "She said mummy's on an island with men. I think granny wants mummy to come home." Dutchy nodded and looked at James again. "Grandma Terry hoped mummy would be back before she was going on her holiday but mummy is really busy," he explained.

It was quiet for a few moments and Dutchy thought James had fallen asleep but then he heard a very tiny, soft voice: "I miss mummy." Dutchy didn't know what to say without letting the boy know he knew more about the situation and giving away that his mother was not just working, but in danger. "When I'm sad gramps always puts his arms around me," James explained what he expected. He might just do this to get extra attention or it could be real, it didn't matter right now. Dutchy crawled onto the bed as well and put his arm around the boy. "Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll stay here until you do, but only if you don't talk anymore," he said. James did what he asked and not much later he slept, safe and sound.

It was strange laying on Kate's bed. Once he thought he had feelings for her, but they were never answered. Nowadays he treasured the friendship he had with her. It made him extremely proud she had picked him to be James' godfather, letting him be in her life, other than as a working colleague. So, laying in her bed made him feel a bit uneasy. This was her domain and he shouldn't be here. He listened to the rhythmic sound of James' breathing. James had nestled himself so close to his body that it was going to be hard to get off the bed without waking him up again. Slowly and quietly he peeled himself off and slipped off the bed and out of the room. He still had to clean James' own bed, but he wasn't going to complain. The only thing he hoped that the next wet bed could be changed by Kate herself.


	8. Lieutenant Commander 8

Kate didn't know how long she had been sleeping but the first sunbeams were already finding their ways through the thick bush. It wasn't the sun that had woken her up though. Not too far away were men talking in the language she had heard the villagers use. Her heartbeat quickened but she couldn't do anything right now. If she would get out of her hiding place and they were the ones looking for her she was going to be finished. They could be from the rebel group but she didn't know what would happen if she, an Australian woman, showed herself to them. The only thing she could do was listen to hear where these men were going and if they noticed she had been in the area.

The noise came a lot closer and it seemed like two men were discussing something only a few meters away from where she pressed herself to the ground. She was in a hole in the tree, hidden away from plain sight but she didn't remember how she had left the surroundings the night before. She had been pretty tired just before she found this tree. The men were clearly in a disagreement and were shushed by a third man not much later. Kate's breath stopped! It was the leader of the group she had run away from. They had followed her and had, almost, found her! The leader spoke a few sentences before it became quiet again. Had he sent them away? Was he gone as well? Kate didn't dare to do anything and just pressed her body to the ground and tried to be as silent as she could.

"You can come out now," the leader spoke after what seemed like an eternity.

Kate didn't even wonder how he had known she had been hiding at that spot or what had happened, but the only thing she still could do in resistance was to ignore him and pretend she wasn't there.

"It's a very good hiding spot. I used it very much when I was a little boy. The others didn't see you but I know you're in there," the leader spoke again.

Kate started to wonder how he was so sure about where she was and decided for herself he was bluffing. He just couldn't have seen her and if two other well trained soldiers didn't see traces of her leading towards the hole in the tree then how could he know for sure she was there?

"Get out now!" he suddenly barked.

It was the same tone he had used when he had taken her life vest and Kevlar away from her. It frightened her so she decided to get out and face the music. Slowly she got out and stood still right in front of him. He was awaiting her at the opening of the hole.

"Please," Kate begged. "Please let me go home."

He just stood there and laughed at her. "Australia hasn't paid up," he simply stated.

Kate dropped her shoulders in defeat and sighed.

"This way," he said while he showed her the way she had come from.

She nodded but as soon as he started to walk she turned the opposite way and ran.

The leader reacted quickly and not even a hundred meters away from the tree he caught up with her. He pulled at her arm and made her stop.

"You're coming with me," he said without even panting or in a need for some extra air. Kate wrestled, hoping to get her freedom back but, when with every turn she made, his grasp became stronger she stopped and just looked him in his eyes.

"Please let me go home. I _need_ to go home. I've got a young son who needs me," she pleaded.

The leader didn't budge and started walking towards the village again, this time dragging Kate along.

"If you have a young son to take care of, then what are you doing on a navy ship?" he asked her.

It was a rhetorical question because when she opened her mouth to give him an answer he quickly turned around and gave her a stern look before he said: "Be quiet!"

Within an hour Kate was back at where she had started her run for freedom. This time the door was locked and the hatch to the window was closed. The hut was darkened and there wasn't any daylight coming in anymore. Kate sat, all curled up, in a corner of the hut thinking about home. The leader had brought her water not long after he had locked her inside and had almost laughingly said that she didn't have to worry. He had gotten a reply from Australia; they wanted her back. He laughed because, like he said, he could keep her a bit longer since they hadn't completely agreed to the demands. Kate hoped she wouldn't have to wait long anymore because she was more than ready to go home.


	9. Lieutenant Commander 9

It was early in the morning when Mike walked into his office. He couldn't stand being at home where he felt utterly helpless. At work he couldn't do much for Kate either but at least he could bury himself in paperwork. It kept him busy and his direct senior happy.

He was glad they kept him up to date with Kate's situation now he wasn't the one to keep in touch with the hostage takers anymore. Someone in Canberra was mailing back and forth with the Tovaluan government but it was going slow. Every time they came up with yet another demand which had to be fulfilled before they would release Kate. He knew he had to keep believing in it, but after every morning, hearing there was something else added to the ever growing list, he became more and more afraid they would only have to go there to pick up her body.

Mike had turned on his laptop almost without realising what he had done and now the sound of it made him realise where he was. On his desk was a new stack of folders for him to battle through. That alone would keep him busy for the rest of the day, but he knew for sure more work was coming his way. The troubles in Tovalu had fired up other riots in the region and all available ships were out there to make sure it didn't spread to Australia as well.

To cross one thing of his extensive to-do-list he opened his mailbox. It amazed him how many mails he received during the night, as if he had been the only one to sleep during that time. Some he could understand; there were the reports from the patrol boats which were sent after every shift. That was an everlasting flow of work but today his inbox was overflowing!

After sorting and shifting the work related mails from the junk he was left with just one mail he couldn't place. He knew he had seen the e-mail address before but he couldn't place it in his mind from where he knew it. It didn't have a subject either so that didn't help much. It could be a mean virus that would spread and destroy everything he had on his laptop as soon as he opened it, but that wouldn't explain why he knew the address.

Not knowing what was in the mail he finally clicked on it to open it. Expecting some sort of ad for something he didn't need in the first place he was shocked to see something totally different.

"Oh no. Oh God!" he exclaimed.

He physically distanced himself from his desk before he could look at it again. His heart raced and beats of sweat were forming on his back. This was something different from an ad, well maybe it would work as an ad for a horror movie.

In the mail was a picture of Kate. She was on the floor and looked straight into the lens of the camera. She was trying to get away from whoever was in the room with her, tears and fear in her eyes. He had never seen her this scared in his life. She was drained, exhausted, scared and there was nothing he could do for her. Mike couldn't look at it much longer and left his office to wash his face with cold water.

What had happened for someone to make a picture of such a vulnerable person? Had Kate done something wrong to aggravate them or had Canberra not done enough and was this a warning to hurry up? When he had received the short video with Kate in it she had looked tired and scared but she was still the strong woman and navy officer he had gotten to know over the years. What he had seen just a few minutes ago was a woman who didn't see a future anymore.

Mike looked at his own image in the mirror and shook his head. He had to go back and read what was written in the mail before he should draw conclusions. It scared him a bit to have to look at Kate like that longer than he wanted to, but he had to if he wanted her back as soon as possible. He had to find out what they wanted this time.

Back in his office Mike sat down in front of his laptop and made the picture appear again. This time he tried to look at Kate's surroundings. She was in a wooden building which was badly lit. The reflector stripes on Kate's uniform were the brightest parts in the picture since they reflected the flashlight from the camera. Behind Kate, in one of the corners was a hessian sack, stuffed with something and tied with a small rope. It looked like a makeshift pillow. There was no blanket or something that would go through for a mattress but Mike was pretty sure the bag was used as Kate's pillow.

"They make you sleep on the wooden floor," Mike whispered in disbelief.

In another corner of the picture there was a part of a bowl visible. He came as close to his laptop to see what it was before he noticed some rice in it. "Thank god they give you something to eat," he sighed.

The picture gave two different sides to the story. On one side there was a scared looking Kate but on the other hand they did feed her and possibly let her drink something as well. The only way to find out what was going on was to read the message which came along with the picture.

"You better hurry up with our demands or we'll have to put some consequences to your reluctance." Mike had to take a deep breath. He didn't want to think about consequences, he just wanted his Lieutenant Commander, and good friend, back. The only thing he could do was to forward the message and hope. Hope they weren't too late already.


	10. Lieutenant Commander 10

Kate woke up from the sounds of gunshots. At first she didn't register it but when the men in the camp started firing back there was no doubt about it anymore. But who was attacking? Had the navy found the location and had they come to rescue her? Who else could it be?

Kate crawled to the window and tried to open the hatch just a little bit to decipher who the attacking party could be but it was still dark and only at one of the huts was a light burning.

Suddenly someone shot in her direction so Kate let the hatch fall back before dropping her body flat to the floor, just in time, as a rain of bullets flew through the air. They had seen her! If they forced the door open she had no means to defend herself. She was locked in so she couldn't run away, even though that wasn't the smartest move right now. As quietly as she could she crawled to one of the corners and pulled the blanket to cover her body.

It had seemed minutes since they had detected her but in fact Kate had lost all sense of timing. She was truly scared of what was going to happen. These attackers couldn't be the Australian navy. They would never fire until they were fired upon, those were the rules of engagement. No, these must be the rebels who were fighting the national army. What would they do to her? The Tovaluan army guys who had taken her hostage were at least some sort of civil towards her. She had gotten food and water and they didn't take advantage of her.

Sounds came closer and all she could do was make herself as small as she could. The first person had already reached her hut and tried to open the locked door. More mumbling followed and then it stopped. Kate didn't know if the person had simply given up or if it had been the person who had fired in her direction. All she knew was that he would come back. If they were good and organised warriors they would want to know what was inside this hut. It scared her that she didn't know who was coming or what they wanted. There was nothing inside to defend herself with, the leader had made sure of that after he had brought her back and had locked her inside. If anyone shot before looking, she wouldn't have a chance of surviving.

Kate almost shrieked when the rattling started again. It wasn't a surprise to hear two voices this time but Kate didn't trust anyone and flattened her body even further as if she was a floorboard. The two male voices were having and argument in the Tovaluan language. She hadn't been in this country long enough to figure out the local language, but she wished she could understand what they were saying. Not a single word sounded even remotely similar to English. The argument stopped and one of them started kicking against the door. Not much later it flung open and they stormed inside, looking around, with drawn guns and even more bullets draped around their bodies. They seemed surprised to find an almost empty place.

They were very young, Kate thought. The first one she saw was tall and couldn't be much older than eighteen or nineteen years old. He had a small beard and a piece of material wrapped around his head. The second looked a bit older but wasn't as tall. Both had some sort of robe on which looked a bit challenging to wear in a place like this. The taller one was the first to see her and with a voice to impress he said something, but Kate had no idea what. He seemed to repeat it or say something more pressing but that made no difference. All Kate could do was show her empty hands to let them know she was unharmed. "Please don't shoot," she said.

The guy who hadn't said anything yet pointed at her and started laughing while he said something to his mate. Was it so amusing to see a scared woman? The man pointed at her again and gave his mate a friendly push.

"Wanita Australia," he said.

It was only now that she saw he was pointing at her epaulet. Of course, Australia was written on them! Kate tried to smile and nod.

"Yes, I come from Australia."

It didn't impress the men and they didn't see why that would make them happy. The tall one even started arguing before loading his weapon.

"NO!" Kate cried out. "Please," she begged while the other guy pulled at the gun and stopped his mate.

"Fajar," he said which made the guy look up and gave his mate an angry glance in return.

"Reza!" the tall guy replied.

They were about to start a fight with each other and the words were repeated until they saw Kate and stopped. It was almost as if they looked caught. Were Reza and Fajar their names and wasn't she supposed to find out? She had heard the name Reza before, having to deal with all kinds of people from that area, so that could be a very good guess but what did it matter if they were going to kill her?

Reza took the gun from Fajar and pointed at Kate's shoulder. _Great, he wanted to kill her himself,_ Kate thought. Her heart was racing and her breathing was irregular. How long was he going to take to pull the trigger? She closed her eyes and hoped that whatever he would do, he would do it quickly, but then she felt a jerk at her uniform before hearing the material tearing off. She lost her balance and before she could open her eyes she was down on the floor. Reza had her epaulet in hand, showing it triumphantly to his mate. He said something in his own language before he left the hut. Kate was left with Fajar who still had another gun which he quickly pointed at her, to make sure she wouldn't move or even thinking about running away.

Not much later Reza returned, followed by another, older, guy. Reza pointed at her, showed the epaulet while he made the sign of money with his fingers. The older man shrugged and clearly wasn't bothered with whatever the younger men planned to do. He left, followed by Fajar who was clearly irritated by the fact he wasn't allowed to kill this white woman. Reza was left alone with her. Not that he gave her much attention at all. He looked around the room but clearly couldn't find what he was looking for. Finally he picked up the makeshift pillow which Kate had made of an old hessian sack and emptied it on the floor. She had been watching what he had been doing but couldn't get his intentions as to what he had planned. He didn't look at her nor did he speak now that his mates were gone.

For a second he left her alone in the hut while he went outside. Kate just sat in the corner, hoping he wouldn't come back to kill her after all. She could hear him walking around before he came back in with a piece of rope. Without any notice he grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. She was turned around and pushed into the corner while he pulled her arms around to her back and used the rope to tie them together. He was clearly not going to kill her yet so she didn't fight him while he tightened it.

Someone came back inside. Kate turned her head around to see who it was and saw the older man. He looked at her for a second before he said something to Reza. He, in return, showed him the sack and opened it while he explained what he was going to do with it. Kate couldn't understand it but looked at the older man instead to see if the explanation was received with delight, but all she could see was his angry look. Quickly she looked at Reza who came closer with the sack before he pulled it over her head. This wasn't what she had expected and her first reaction was to fight it. Reza hit her in her face before he dragged her out of the hut.

Kate felt every rock, every twig and bumped into everything she passed during the two hour walk. She had scratches on her arms from tree branches that had scraped her. Her legs had to be full of bruises but the men didn't slow down for her at all. Reza had been made responsible for her. In the beginning he had been somewhat friendly, helping her up after every fall she made, but when it slowed him down as well and the other criticised his tardiness, he became less understanding. When they reached a village, early in the morning, Kate heard more voices and to her surprise not only male ones. She couldn't see any of them but it lifted her spirit just a little bit. She wouldn't be the only woman around anymore.

Kate was pulled up onto a veranda and finally pushed inside a building. Behind her the door was closed. Reza had pushed her with such great force that she hit the wall and hit her head in the process. Since her hands were tied to the back she couldn't stop the fall and therefore she landed on the floor. She tried to remove the sack from her head because she needed some fresh air and, of course, she wanted to know where she had ended up. It didn't work out the way she wanted it but at least Kate could get the sack far enough up to get some air. She could also see the room was completely empty and the only window had bars across the open space. It looked very much like a jail to her.

Kate just laid down on the ground and took the moments alone to just do nothing. She didn't realise how tired she was until now. The day before she had run away and during the night she didn't sleep at all. For the past two hours she had been walking, needing all her energy to just keep going without hurting herself too much. All she wanted now was to get someone to cut the rope around her wrists and leave her here alone. She closed her eyes and almost fell asleep when the door opened again and three people walked in. They were all covered from head to toe in dark coloured material but as soon as the door was closed again they lifted the front part up. There were three women who varied in age. One was leading them, a woman in her late fifties who had more wrinkles on her face than Kate had ever seen. This woman ordered the other two without even using a word.

The second was holding a bowl in her hands and as soon as she put it down Kate saw it had water in it. She wanted to see the third woman but for that she needed to sit up and if she would do that the bag over her head would drop down again, stopping the flow of fresh air.

The second woman, someone about twenty years old took her by her arm and made her sit up before removing the sack from her head. Finally Kate could see the world around her again and also the third person, a young girl who had a bundle of clothes in her hands. They all could have been related, three generations of women to take care of the prisoner.

The 'granny' of the three looked at the 'mother', who came closer again and unbuttoned Kate's jacket.

"Hey, don't do that," Kate protested, although it didn't make any difference.

She had thought having women around her would be better but they were just as ruthless as the men. The 'mother' turned around to the 'daughter' and actually spoke something that sounded like "membantu". The youngest of the three put down the stuff she had brought inside and looked at the 'mother' for guidance of what to do. "Sepatu," the 'mother' said to which the youngest started loosening the laces of Kate's shoes. She couldn't do anything to stop the young girl taking off her shoes but what was far more frustrating was that the few things the 'mother' did say she could not understand.

"Stop. Why are you doing this? Why are you taking off my shoes?" Kate asked while she looked at the girl and tried to kick her away from her feet.

While she fought to keep her shoes the 'mother' started pulling the loose jacket backwards over her shoulders. With her hands still tied that was as far as it went but now the 'mother' started helping the 'daughter' by holding her legs still while the 'granny' just stood a meter away from it all.

It was unavoidable; the shoes, and then her socks were taken away from her and Kate couldn't do anything about it. She knew for sure the jacket would be given to 'granny' as well, who was putting the socks neatly together, but the reason why wasn't very clear to her. Were they going to strip her so the men could come in and rape her? If that was what was going on it all didn't make sense. Men didn't need other women to take off clothes, they were very capable of doing that themselves. Besides, these women would know what was going to happen and would they seriously help others to violate another woman? She couldn't believe that. Whatever their reason was, Kate wasn't going to give up without a fight. Her uniform was the last piece of protection she had. It was giving her an identity.

'Mother' took the hem of her t-shirt in her hands and with great force tore the material all the way to the collar. Without showing her emotion the woman tore the last piece of it and put the two sides of the t-shirt on the jacket. Kate wanted to say so many things but it was futile. They didn't understand her and if they did they didn't react to whatever she was saying. The only way of showing what she was feeling right now was to let her emotions run free. She was almost topless now, only her bra covering her top body, and she felt extremely vulnerable. When 'mother' also started twitching with her trousers Kate started to cry.

"Please, stop," she begged and tried to look the 'mother' in the eyes.

It didn't have any effect and when the trousers were completely taken off and given to 'granny', 'mother' finally cut the rope that was holding her wrists together. By now she wasn't resisting anymore and just let them take off the jacket and torn t-shirt.

The young girl handed the bowl with water to 'granny' who took a cloth out of it and threw it at Kate.

"Mencuni," she said which sounded like an order.

Kate took the cloth but didn't know what the woman had meant.

"Mencuni," she repeated.

Kate shrugged while she shielded her naked body as much as she could.

"Seperti ini," the 'daughter' said while she showed her a caressing movement on her own arm.

They wanted her to clean herself? She moved the cloth over her own arms which were rewarded by a small smile from the daughter. She continued cleaning her arms and her face, dipping the cloth a few times into the bowl of water, but what she really wanted was a sip, well actually all, of the water. She dipped the cloth in another time and squeezed it near her mouth. The 'mother' realised what she was doing and picked up the bowl before emptying it above Kate's head. The water was ice cold. Like a fish on land Kate was fighting to get air, but 'granny' didn't stop and ordered the 'daughter' to get the bundle she had brought in.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door and a male voice was heard. The 'mother' looked alarmed and walked up to the door and opened it just enough to see the man on the other side.

"Tidak! Jangan masukkan, wanita tidak memiliki pakaian," she said.

"Buru-buru," the man replied before the 'mother' closed the door again.

She gave the 'daughter' an angry stare and made her hand the clothes she was still holding. It turned out to be a long dress without much form. No waste line or different parts being nicely put together, just a simple piece of material to cover her body.

Kate put the dress on and looked down at herself and was glad she wasn't naked anymore. She was still cold from the water nor had she been able to dry herself off but that wasn't a problem. It was a welcome change after the warm and sweaty walk through the bush. She straightened the dress a bit when 'mother' walked up to her and reached for her neck. Kate avoided her movement but now 'granny' started to butt in. She reached for her neck as well and pulled her dog tags up. For a second she looked at it and then tried to take it off. 'Granny' put it with the rest of her uniform and didn't even give it another look. This was all such a strange experience that she just didn't know what to think anymore.

There was no time to get used to it all because the 'daughter' handed 'granny' a second piece of clothing. Kate had no idea what that would be until they unfolded it and draped it over her head.

For the first time in her life she was actually wearing a burka!

There was only a small square to look through which was slightly better than the bag she had had over her head before. It felt so awkward and unrealistic and so strange, but the three women didn't wear theirs like she was now. They had their burkas pulled back over their heads, like they were wearing a head scarf. That's what Kate wanted too, but as soon as she had pulled the material up there was another knock on the door and 'granny' pulled her burka back to cover her full body.

Two men walked in but Kate couldn't distinguish if she had seen them before or if they were completely new to her. They walked towards 'granny' and looked at the uniform which was quickly given to them.

"Memberi kita alamat bos Anda," one of them said to Kate.

She shrugged and looked confused. They kept talking to her in their own language but she couldn't understand it. When she didn't answer him he repeated the sentence before looking at the other man. He in return took the uniform and moved it through the air before he said "Australia." He repeated the movement just as long until Kate nodded.

"You want to send it to Australia," she said. "You need the address?"

Kate looked around and wanted to mime how she was writing an address down but they couldn't see it at all with her burka covering her hands so she pulled the material up a bit and showed him what she meant. 'Mother' wanted to pull the material back down but she was stopped by one of the men.

"I," Kate pointed at herself. "Write," she pretended to write and address, "And then you send my uniform," she pointed at it before she started left from her saying: "Tovalu," and moved to her right side while saying: "Australia."

The men nodded and one of them threw down a piece of paper and a pen on the ground. He waited for Kate to pick it up and write down the address and as soon as he had it the first man left the building. The second turned out to be Reza who walked towards 'mother' and started whispering something to her. The woman shook her head heatedly before she looked at Kate.

"Wah!" she exclaimed. "Aku tidak ingin dia," she added.

'Granny' guided the 'daughter' outside as if they shouldn't be there anymore. Reza stood in front of 'mother' and simply stated: "Maryam anda harus!"

With that he took Kate's burka and made it fall back to the ground, covering her again before he pushed her towards the door. This time she only had to walk a small distance before she reached a house. Inside, it all looked very simple but there were different rooms. Some sort of a living room, a small bedroom and a kitchen with a storeroom. That's where she was left behind, wondering what she should do. If she was here to cook they had better ask someone else. Her ability to cook at home wasn't very well developed, but cooking in a foreign country would be even worse.

Maryam, as 'mother' turned out to be called, kept an eye on her all day long and made her do all the rotten chores around the house and by the end of the day she was locked up in the storeroom. Kate took off the burka and used it as a blanket. She put her tired body down on the ground and looked at the ceiling. Her uniform had been put in an envelope and was given to a runner boy to be brought to a post office, she presumed. Again she had to wait for a reply from her home country but this time she didn't know what the demand would be and how they would be able to react. They wouldn't just give them their address, they weren't that stupid, but Kate would love to know what the prize to her freedom was this time. Finally, all exhausted, she fell asleep.


	11. Lieutenant Commander 11

Mike sighed. For the past two hours he had been in a meeting at Navcom about the protection and safe guarding of Australian assets. More and more refugees were picked up from sea in less than sea worthy boats and what was more distressing was that they didn't just come from Tovalu. This meeting was taking forever especially since it was as clear as the noses on their faces how to deal with them. This was not a meeting about how to deal with them, but a meeting about logistics and that was something he wasn't trained for.

"Mike, you're quiet," Commander Smith stated. He was leading this meeting and was worried about his friend. He knew Kate McGregor meant a lot to Mike and all this talk about that same region where his friend was kept hostage wasn't doing him any good. "I would understand it if you took a few days off, you know."

Mike gave him a sad look and shrugged. "I don't think that that will do me much good," he answered. "Just let me stay and do my work," he added.

Commander Smith nodded in agreement and looked around the room to see how the others were doing. "Let's take a short break. We will continue in…" he looked at his watch and nodded as if he agreed with his own thought, "… fifteen mintues."

Right when everyone wanted to leave the room a seaman walked in with a large package in his hands. He looked around and then walked straight to Mike. "This arrived for you sir," he stated before he saluted and handed the package.

"Seaman!" Commander Smith barked, unhappy about the young sailor's interruption. The young man stopped dead in his track and turned around.

"Sir," he saluted Commander Smith.

"You were lucky we're just having a break but you can't just come in and disturb us like that," he stated.

The Seaman quickly looked at Mike, who was mesmerised by the package, before he looked at Commander Smith again. "I'm sorry sir, but it stated it was urgent and the postal stamps told me the package comes from Tovalu. I asked Lieutenant Sheppard back at the office if it was OK to disturb, but he also agreed Commander Flynn would want to receive this package now," he defended himself.

Smith looked at Mike, who was still looking at the package as if it was his first born and, if he wasn't careful enough would drop it to the floor. "What is it Commander?" Smith asked curiously, but Mike shook his head and simply showed him the brown paper package.

"It's her handwriting," he said, almost inaudibly.

"Whose?" Smith asked, looking at the neat handwriting, stating Mike's name and the word 'urgent' in one of the corners.

"Kate McGregor's," Mike replied.

Mike couldn't do anything else but look at what he was holding in his hands. Someone had made her write his name and address down on the package but what was inside? Had they physically hurt her or… He didn't even want to think about it.

"Are you alright Mike?" Smith asked while he guided him to a chair.

Mike didn't react but sat down and sighed. "Can you open it? I'm scared I might not like what I see," he almost begged.

Smith took the package from Mike and opened it carefully. Kate's navy uniform, her dog tags and a note became visible.

"Oh no!" Mike exclaimed. _What had they done? Was she still alive? If so, what was she wearing now_?

"Mike, they're doing this to scare us," Smith tried to calm him down.

"And it's working!" Mike fired back, taking the uniform in his hands and taking a good look at it. The smears he had seen in the little video and the picture were still there. They had to test this for authenticity, but he already knew it was the real thing.

"What does the note say?" the young Seaman asked.

No one had realised he was still there but he pointed at the note that had fallen on the ground. Smith picked it up and shrugged. "Does anyone know any Tovaluan or language from that region?" he asked to no one in particular.

Mike put the uniform down and looked at it. It wasn't written by Kate and after a first look he knew that he wouldn't be much help in finding out what the text said.

One of the Lieutenants stepped forward and took a look at the note. "They want ten million dollars. Next Friday on the beach at the north side of the Tovaluan island. We'll get our…" he stopped and looked embarrassed to voice what was in the note. "…Lieutenant Commander back after the payment," he filled in his own blank.

"Thank you," Smith said, patting the man on his back. "I don't think we need to hear the degrading word they really used, but if they want money in her return we better send it off to the Brass in Canberra. Seaman," he ordered the young man who was still standing nearby. "Send this off to Canberra. They'll know what to do with it."

Mike didn't know how long he had stayed at Navcom after seeing Kate's uniform but it hadn't been long. Commander Smith had sent him home, telling him to 'take it easy' and rest. He could call any minute if he wanted to get an update, but, of course, when he did so there was nothing new to tell.

The news he was watching wasn't very interesting as well. Politics, economics, it just didn't interest him anymore. He was about to turn off his television when a reporter appeared in front of the headquarters of the Chief of Navy. The man, with microphone in his hand and looking to his right, seemed ecstatic. "It's the first time in two weeks that we've got to see a sign of life of the Australian woman held hostage," the reporter stated.

Obviously he had missed the beginning of the conversation but a navy spokesperson appeared on screen who, very calmly, shook his head.

"We have had several communications with the hostage takers over the past week. We've asked for signs of life of our Lieutenant Commander and have received that," he corrected the reporter.

"OK, but this time you've received a note as well, asking for a lot of money. Will Australia pay up?" he asked.

The navy spokesperson shook his head again before he answered: "We don't pay money to rebels or terrorist groups."

Whatever he said after that passed as one big blur. Mike was stunned! Kate was in danger and they could get her free by paying money and now his government wasn't going to do so? What would he have to say to James? 'Sorry son, but your government did nothing to save your mother?' That would be wrong.

Sinking back into the pillows of his couch Mike thought about the little boy whose father had been killed and whose mother was about to be killed as well. He didn't know how or if it was the right time, but shouldn't they at least start thinking about how to tell him he might lose his mother as well? How _do_ you tell a three year old something like that?


	12. Lieutenant Commander 12

A week passed in which nothing happened. Kate was being used as a slave by Maryam, who had given her all the disgusting and bad chores. The language barrier was huge, which didn't make life any easier. A few of the women were interested in getting to know Kate, but Maryam practically made that impossible by keeping her away from anyone else as much as possible.

Maryam was a mean spirited woman towards Kate, but the other women seemed to like her and she got treated a lot nicer. Kate realised it hadn't been Maryam's idea of getting to take care of her and she only did so because her husband had ordered her.

Kate still had to get used to living with a burka. She kept tripping over the rim of it or had it pulled all the way up and then being caught by someone, or worse, by Maryam. The person to catch her would hit her hard in her face or shove her against a wall so Kate had become really cautious about when to pull up the long material.

She was losing all sense of time and even started wondering what her name was or where she had once come from. Maryam kept calling her 'budak' which probably was something degrading, but she tried to ignore it and just try and please her as much as she could.

One morning she was scrubbing an old stove when Reza and one of the older men walked in and grabbed her by her arm. Even Maryam didn't know what was going on because she started to protest loudly, but Reza silenced her and took Kate away. Kate didn't know if she had to be grateful or be scared by the men. They had pretty much left her alone with the women and she had only seen Reza on a daily base when she was cooking or cleaning in his house.

The men guided her away from the village until they reached a beach. Kate was surprised that they had only walked for a short period of time. "You," Reza barked at her. "Money," he said while he pointed at himself. Kate didn't understand what he meant. She didn't have any money to give, and Reza knew that, she knew for sure, but then he pointed at the sea. "Kapal," he said. "Money," he repeated again.

Kate looked at the sea but didn't see anything that made sense. They waited for a while and let her sit on the beach on her own but when nothing happened they pulled her on her feet again and dragged her back to the village. Too late Kate realised they had been waiting for someone from Australia to pick her up or that she had the opportunity to run away.

She wasn't the only one who was disappointed. Reza pushed her inside one of the bigger huts and made her kneel in front of the man she had last seen with her uniform.

"Mereka tidak menunjukkan," he spat out as if he had eaten something disgusting.

The man shook his head in disbelieve before he pulled up Kate's burka and threw it away.

"Anda tidak ingin tahu apa yang akan saya lakukan untuk Anda ketika mereka tidak membayar!" he said to her.

Kate wished she knew what it meant because they were pretty aggravated but she couldn't understand one word. There was no link to English at all. Nothing sounded similar.

"I don't know what you mean," she almost cried.

It made the older man angry and he picked up a machete from his desk and held it above Kate's head.

"Menutup!" he barked at her before he talked to Reza for a second.

Reza shrugged and pointed at Kate to which the older man took her by her hair and cut her ponytail off, in one go, with the machete.

Kate was astonished by what happened and looked at her hair in his hand. For a second she had thought he was going to kill her and she had held her breath since. She exhaled and dug to make herself small, but Reza picked up her hand and pulled her up a bit.

He took her index finger and said: "Next."

Her breathing stocked. She put her hands close to her body where they wouldn't be able to hurt her.

Reza laughed at her and threw her burka back at her. She had to put it back on and would surely be send back to more torture from Maryam. Why hadn't the Australians showed up? How much longer did she have to go on like this? She was losing her patience and wanted to go home, nothing else.


	13. Lieutenant Commander 13

Dutchy put James' pyjama top over the boy's head and smiled at him. "We put the nappy on the way it was shown on the package, we brushed your teeth and washed your face, now are you going to be a good boy and sleep?" he asked.

James nodded but smiled at the other man in the room. "Uncle Mike?" he started. "Can you read a story?"

Mike looked at Dutchy. He didn't mind reading a story but Dutchy was in charge of the daily routine of the kid.

"Please?" James begged.

"Uncle Mike already told you many stories tonight James," Dutchy said sternly.

He tapped Mike on his shoulder as a sign to leave the room and stood up himself.

"Goodnight James," Mike said to the little boy before he got up as well and followed Dutchy back to the living room.

"We have to tell him," Mike said.

For days now he had thought about it and after receiving Kate's uniform almost two weeks ago there had been no contact anymore with the people holding her. There were people who even suggested Kate had been killed already and was buried in a shallow grave somewhere. _That_ he didn't want to believe, but the longer it took to get Kate back the more his uneasy feeling about the whole situation was growing.

"And what do you want to tell him? Sorry James, we don't know where your mother is?" Dutchy asked and answered his own question. "We don't even know what's happened to her. He's only three years old and wouldn't understand half of what we want to tell him," Dutchy explained.

Mike sighed and turned to face the stairways where they had come from. "Can't you see he misses his mother?" he sighed loudly.

Dutchy rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Of course he misses her! He misses her too when she's away for just a few days," he retorted.

Mike walked to the kitchen and put the kettle on to make some coffee. "He's not stupid. He knows something is going on. I can't lie much longer to him," he continued without even looking at Dutchy.

It resulted in Dutchy coming after him and pinning him to the kitchen bench. "You will do no such thing. If you can't handle the situation any longer it's best you leave us alone," he yelled.

"OK, OK, take it easy," Mike tried to calm him down. He pushed Dutchy away from him and took a few steps in the other direction himself. He looked at Dutchy but didn't know what to say so they just stared at each other.

"We can't distress him with knowledge _we_ don't even understand. If, and I mean _if_ it comes as far as having to tell him his mother isn't coming home we will tell him gently, but we'll tackle that when it comes that far," Dutchy stated firmly.

It became quiet and both men didn't know what to do next. They clearly didn't agree with each other, but they both wanted the best for James Roth.

The kettle was ready and Mike made two cups of coffee, in silence, then handed Dutchy one of the cups.

"We can't do anything right now anyway. He's asleep," Mike said, letting Dutchy know he wouldn't do anything right now but wasn't giving up on his idea of telling James about Kate's situation.

Dutchy shook his head but didn't react. He had said everything he wanted to and didn't want to use more energy than necessary. "Let's talk about something else," he suggested instead.

Mike nodded and walked to the patio which overlooked the sea. "What do you think she's doing right now?" he wondered.

Dutchy shrugged. "I hope she's fine and is treated well," was his only hope.

The two men sat down and enjoyed the peace and quiet and the coffee when someone rang the doorbell.

"I'll go," Mike said, quickly getting up.

Before Dutchy could say anything he had already walked towards the door and opened it to be greeted by the Seaman who had brought him the package with Kate's uniform two weeks ago.

"Commander," the Seaman said. "There was another package delivered about an hour ago. It was addressed to you but Commander Smith opened it, knowing it was from the hostage takers," he explained.

Mike was too overwhelmed to be angry at his colleague for opening his mail. "What was in it?" he asked hastily.

"A note and…" the Seaman stopped. "The note said Australia had to pay the money or they're going to send her back bit by bit," he continued without telling what else had been in the package.

"A note and?" Mike repeated the Seaman's words. "What else did they send?" he asked.

"Her hair. They cut her hair," the Seaman answered. "Commander Smith has had contact with the Chief of Navy and he wanted to let you know they're going to pay. I had to come here and tell you personally so there was no chance for anyone to intercept our phone call. If everything goes alright she'll be back in a few days."


	14. Lieutenant Commander 14

Kate sat down on the beach and looked straight ahead through the little square of her burka. In the past weeks she had gotten used to her limited vision. The great advantage was that they couldn't see her facial expressions while she could see theirs. Maryam had been a true slave master ever since she returned after the failed pick up or transfer, and made her life a living hell. Any time Kate got used to something and started feeling a bit comfortable doing it Maryam would change the chore. It also had happened a few times that Maryam had woken Kate up in the middle of the night to make fun of her. Somehow she had heard the name James and had realised what the relationship was to Kate. At least she knew she could hurt Kate with mentioning the name. Whatever was going to happen today, Kate had made a promise to herself: She was _not_ going back to Maryam and her mean spirit.

Kate didn't know what they were waiting for but the men had taken position behind some rocks where they could observe the beach, keep her and any coming vessels in sight and still be secluded enough to not become the target themselves. They had been waiting for over half an hour and still nothing had happened. Scared it would end up like the last time Kate started looking for possible fleeing routes. The best one was about twenty-five meters away from where she was sitting, but she had to get rid of her burka first. With it she had no chance of getting away. The fact she was wearing a dress underneath the burka was already something she had to take in consideration. She was going to be slowed down and she would be up against men who were used to running and knew the area.

The men were talking and didn't seem to pay much attention. Without hesitating any longer Kate threw off her burka and ran towards the tree line. She made it but didn't know which way she should run. She chose a path that was leading away from the men, who by now were running behind her.

Kate could hear them coming closer and closer, but she didn't want to give up. Holding her dress up with two hands and looking right in front of her to see where she could place her shoeless feet was slowing her down immensely and in the end she felt two hands on her upper arms, gripping them and making her stop.

"I'm not going back," Kate screamed while Reza held her until his friend had reached them.

Kate was trying as hard as she could to break free, but with two men around her it was impossible. Reza's friend picked up her legs and together they carried a fighting Kate back to the beach. There they dropped her like a sack of potatoes and made her face the sand. Reza got some rope from his pocket and tied her ankles together before he turned her around and tied her hands in front of her body. When he was done he picked up the burka which was laying not far from them and pulled it back over her head.

Reza and his friend went back to their spot behind the rocks and let Kate sit on the beach on her own. The sun was at its highest point now and Kate wished there was some shade or wind to cool her down. She had used a lot of energy to run away and was exposed to the heat. There was no way she was going to get away another time. All she could do was wait and hope.

~.~

The boarding party of the HMAS Towoomba had been tasked to bring the money to the drop off spot. They had been observing it for the past fifteen minutes but nothing had happened. The person, covered by a burka, had not moved at all. There had to be someone else nearby but they hadn't been able to detect them. Was it going to be a trap? Was there a rebel underneath that material, ready to kill anyone who would reach the beach?

"What do you want us to do boss?" one of the boarding officers asked over the radio.

"Approach but be careful," the answer came.

The RHIB landed on the beach and two of the men inside jumped out, scanning the beach. Still, only the covered person was visible but as soon as the two sailors felt sand under their feet two men came from behind the rocks and walked towards the covered person. They said something that sounded like 'money' while they made sure they were behind the covered person at all times.

"We need to see that this is Lieutenant Commander McGregor," Lieutenant West said. He lead this mission and was tasked to bring the bag with the false banknotes to the rebels and make sure that Kate McGregor was safe and sound before he handed them what they thought was a treasure.

"Is this Lieutenant Commander McGregor?" he asked again, but the men behind the covered person didn't react to his questions. They only came closer to that person and hit him or her. Lieutenant West tried to listen to the person who would have to have felt the hit and should react to it. "Money," one of the men said again.

Lieutenant West came a bit closer and tried to see the eyes of the person underneath the burka, but he wasn't close enough to make any possible ID. "Kate?" he yelled, hoping that the person in the burka would react. The head tilted towards him and for a second he thought he saw some white skin.

"Get the money," he ordered his men. He had to rely on his judgement and right now he was convinced enough this was the person they were ordered to pick up.

The bag with money was given to a man who hadn't said a word yet but as soon as he had the money they both started running away. Lieutenant West ordered two of his men to follow them while he pulled up the burka. "It's her!" he sighed, letting his CO know. Finally Kate McGregor was back in Australian hands.

Sydney, June 1, 2044

"And that is how Robert met his wife," Dylan joked, referring back to what Robert had told them earlier. "I was glad I could tell my godson his mother was coming home soon. He was much older when we told him what had really happened," he added, now looking at a man sitting next to his mother and wife. "I can't believe that this story is almost thirty years old, but it's true," he said astonished himself. "I'm glad and thankful to have Kate in my life. Thankful that those men on Tovalu kept her alive and let her return. I know for sure my life would have been completely different if she hadn't," he finished.

The audience applauded but all he cared for was the nod from Kate. She mouthed a 'thank you' to him which he returned with a small nod as well.

The next speaker to tell you something about this wonderful woman is someone I've known for a long time as well. Please my I introduce Captain…."


	15. Commander 1

Sydney, June 1, 2044

"Good evening everyone," Mike Flynn started. "Kate, Robert, kids," he joked, knowing that Kate's kids were all grown up now.

"I was asked to tell something about Kate. How I got to meet her and how she affected my life. If I was to tell you everything we would need another week or probably closer to a month," he smiled.

"Kate and I go back a long time. The first time I ever laid eyes on her she was still in the college benches. Clearly, she has made it so far because of me," he proudly stated, looking at Kate and winked at her.

"You've got tickets on yourself," she said while others laughed at his statement.

"Well, maybe I wasn't such a big influence as I'm making out now, but she was my student once. She will be happy to know there isn't enough time to cover all our history so I will skip straight to the time when she came back into my life as my XO on the HMAS Hammersley. She was assigned to me and when I found out it was Princess Perfect I knew she wasn't going to stay long, but I was wrong. We served together on that boat for five years!" he said as if he was amazed by it himself.

"I could tell you a lot of stories from those five years because so much happened. We fell in love, we fell out of love, or actually SHE fell out of love," he admitted.

It was such a long time ago but he could still feel the pain from all those years ago.

"I never had enough courage to tell her how I really felt and so I waited until I was posted back to Cairns in late 2017. Kate was working at Navcom and I wanted to surprise her. This is the story I want to share with you all."

**Commander McGregor**

Cairns, Navcom headquarters, November 19 2017

Mike sat in her office, _his previous office,_ at Navcom. He had fought hard to go back to sea two years ago but when they had placed him on a frigate he felt, as they so nicely say, lost at sea. When the job at the fisheries enquiry became vacant he hadn't doubted what to do. He had gotten the position even though he thought he didn't have a chance, but he didn't care about that now. He was back in port, even in the same building as Kate was. What more did he want?

He looked at her desk, which was meticulously proper. Her nametag was visually placed at the centre. Commander McGregor!

He had hoped she would get his old job one day, but he had to admit he had been surprised to find out the brass had had only one candidate in mind when he was about to leave his position here. She had been the CO of Hammersley at that time but didn't mind the new desk job at all. Come to think of it, it wasn't that strange. Her young son had not even started school. James had to be… Mike thought hard and looked at the ceiling… James was born in December 2011, so he would be almost six years old by now. On the desk was a picture frame with, probably, the latest picture of him. Mike was more than curious to have a peek, but to do that now would mean he had to intrude on her privacy and he didn't want to do that.

He looked around the rest of the office. It hadn't changed that much since he had been in charge, but there was only that much you could do with a navy office. His eyes kept wondering until he looked at the clock. It was very uncommon for Kate McGregor to be late but he was going to be an eyewitness to the only time in the century for her to show up late more than a minute. It even became awkward to just sit around in the office on his own, so he decided to wait in the central hall instead to make sure he wasn't going to be accused of snooping.

When he walked to the centre of the hall he heard two sailors sniggering. They were working behind computers and probably didn't notice he could hear them. Since there was nothing else to do Mike listened in to hear what was so amusing. He might even catch the latest gossip.

"… playing doctors and nurses," one of the sailors said.

He probably thought it was really funny because he laughed about his own joke more than the female seaman.

"Isn't he a Lieutenant Commander? So she outranks him, but since he's the doctor, who is used to being in charge, who is the boss in that situation?" she asked him seriously.

"Uhm he does," he answered quickly.

"Although she might make him stand at attention," he added covering his mouth and slightly reddened cheeks.

"Stan, you are gross! And you have a dirty mind," the woman reacted.

Mike didn't have to imagine of what they were talking about. Still, he didn't know who was the subject. That wasn't important anyway because they were talking about _someone_ in a very disrespectful way so he stepped forward to make his presence known.

They stood up and raised their hands up to their heads to salute him. He waited a fraction longer to give them the unpleasant feeling before he answered it. He didn't say anything but they knew what he would have said: 'don't dare to continue this discussion.'

The two continued their work which left Mike wandering again. The gossip, because that's what it was, had stopped only to make him wonder who they had been talking about.

Mike didn't get much time because behind him someone tapped him at his shoulder. He saw the two sailors, which he had just reprimanded, turn red in the face before he swerved around to see Kate.

"Mike," she exclaimed joyfully. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Kate, you look great!" he exclaimed in return.

If he could he would have embraced her but being at Navcom and both in uniform he couldn't do much more than hold her hand and politely shake it.

"How are you doing?" he asked, knowing the answer would be positive. She looked stunning, maybe even the best he had ever seen her.

Kate looked behind her in her office and saw the Commander she was supposed to meet hadn't arrived yet.

"Come into my office," she invited.

She hadn't seen him for at least a year and during that time they only had sporadically kept in touch via e-mail. They needed to find a moment to catch up.

"I don't have much time right now. I'm supposed to have a meeting with someone from ADFA but I'd love to catch up with you. Are you in Cairns long?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "I've got some business in Sydney but after that I will be," he replied.

Kate put her briefcase down on her desk and looked in it for her planner. This morning had been so different, so unique, it seemed she had totally lost control.

"So you're going to be back in Cairns?" she mused while she lifted a few papers.

Mike smiled. Something must have happened to her this morning because she didn't only show up late, but seemingly had lost something as well.

"I'm going to be posted here in Cairns," he stated.

Kate looked up at him and showed him a broad smile. "Really?" she asked amused.

"Yes, really," he replied.

"Oh that is great news," Kate continued before she dove back into her briefcase to continue the search for whatever she was looking for.

"Can you find it?" he teased.

"Oh gosh, no," Kate panted. "I'm looking for my planner. A rectangular, leather covered…"

"This?" Mike cut her off when he saw the iPad she was talking about in the pile of papers she had already taken out. He handed it to her while she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"You've got to excuse me. I had a bit of a celebration last night and I just can't seem to wake up and get back into business. I'm supposed to meet a Commander," she started to explain while she opened her iPad and looked through her appointments. "I even start doubting at what time we were going to meet. He should have been here already," she continued without looking up from the device in her hands.

Mike looked around and didn't see anyone wandering around so he looked at Kate again. She had a glow all over her body and looked stunning with her hair tied up in a bun and her white uniform. He was falling in love with her all over again and with the knowledge he would be in the same city, the same building even, it would all work out very well. Suddenly he wondered why he hadn't kept in touch with her more during his time at sea. He had been really busy but that wasn't an excuse. Oh well, he couldn't change that anymore. No, he was going to look forward to nice moments together.

"Hmm, he really should have been here already," Kate said, looking around. "Oh well, since he's not, it gives us some time to find a date to have a good long talk," she chatted happily.

Mike nodded and sat down across the desk.

"ADFA?" he said, remembering she had mentioned it earlier.

Kate gave him a quizzical look so he elaborated a bit further. "You said you were meeting someone from ADFA. I didn't know nice looking, attractive, blonde Commanders had much to do with people from ADFA," he teased her.

She was so confused that she didn't even realise he _was_ mocking her.

"Well, he made an appointment. Wanted to talk to me about something," Kate explained seriously. "Here it says I actually even know this guy but I don't know a Commander Melky," she said while she looked confused as if she had just read the most strangest thing.

"You're talking about Finn? Finn Melky?" Mike said enthusiastically. "Yes, you do know him. He used to be very handsome, well actually, he still is," he said, hardly able to keep a straight face.

Kate put down everything she had in her hands and placed both hands flat on her desk.

"What are you talking about? I'm very sure I don't know a Commander Melky," she defended.

"Oh, but he wasn't a Commander back then. It must be what, almost fifteen years ago, so he was a Lieutenant and you a simple Warfare officer," he explained, hoping she would get the hint, but all he got in return was an irritated look.

"Mike, I know who I do and do not know and this Melky…" she started but he put his hands up in the air to stop her.

"Throw all the letters up in the air and let them fall back on the ground. You'll find out it spells Mike Flynn," he said proudly. "I wanted to surprise you," he added.

Kate sat down in her chair and leaned back as far as she could. This was a surprise! She was too much stuck at the happenings from last night that she hadn't been able to recognise the clever anagram.

"You are a…" she sighed before she looked at her watch. "You better talk quickly _Finn_. I've got another meeting in about twenty minutes," she smiled, getting back to business.

"Well, it's actually pretty simple," Mike stated. "Before I'm back here in Cairns, I'm going to do a course at ADFA, teaching that is," he explained himself. "I only agreed to it if I could get an assistant. You," he said excitedly.

For a week now he had been looking forward to this moment. In his mind she had said yes, and they would have spent the rest of their half hour reminiscing the good old times. Over the years she had been back at ADFA to teach certain courses, so it wouldn't be anything new and if she could be doing it with him it _would_ be like old times. Why wasn't Kate as excited as he was? Had he waited too long to ask her? Of course she needed to find someone to take care of James, but that wouldn't be too hard now, would it?

"It's the second and third week of January," he said, almost hoping she thought seven weeks would be enough to find a babysitter, but Kate didn't look all that excited at all and scrolled through her planner instead.

"It's going to be fun Kate," he tried. "One week full of theory and one week out in the field. It gives you the chance to get out of your office and practice your own navigational skills."

Kate gave him a faint smile and sighed. "The second week of January is James' first school week. His first school day. I've missed enough of those kind of moments in his life already. I don't want to miss it if I don't really have to," she admitted sorrowfully.

"His first school day already!" Mike said amazed. "I can understand you don't want to miss that," he acknowledged.

Kate gave him a thankful smile and folded her hands together. "He's going to be six next month. He's really looking forward to going to school and I think he started asking if I could please bring him to school since I missed his first day of kindy," she explained.

"But since you took so much time and effort to get me to come along with you I'll try and see if I can arrange something for the second week," she added. "If you want me to of course."

Mike didn't believe his ears and just nodded thankfully. "That will be wonderful," he exclaimed. "I'm already looking forward to it."

He paused for a second and then looked at her planner. "I'll e-mail you all the details of when and where I want my assistant to show up," he joked. "You mentioned earlier that we should catch up. I think that's a great idea," he added hopefully.

Kate nodded and also looked at her planner. "I could invite you to James' birthday party, but that's not a good time to catch up. Not that you're not invited! You're more than welcome to come," she quickly corrected herself. "There's still so much to do up until then. Hardly a night I don't have anything planned. I think it's not going to be more than a lunch or a drink at the pub until January," she rambled on before she took the planner in hand again and looked at it again.

"You're a busy woman McGregor," Mike teased.

Kate looked up from her planner and returned a small smile. She couldn't deny she wasn't a busy woman but she most definitely wasn't going to apologise for it. A fulltime job and a young kid at home simply meant that most of her days were full but if she thought December was going to be full she hadn't seen what was going to be in store in the next year. Not just work, but her personal life was going to be hectic as well. She didn't mind it at all because she was happy.

"James' birthday… next month…. The twenty-eight of December, isn't it?… Kate?... Kate?"

Kate looked up and realised she had been lost in thought while Mike had been trying to get her attention.

"Are you sure James wouldn't mind me showing up? I mean the last time he really saw me was over a year ago," Mike wondered.

Kate nodded her head and smiled. "But he still talks about that sailing trip we took with you that summer. Don't worry. He'll like it if you could come."

Mike took his own planner and scribbled it down. "I'll let you know where I'm staying around that time. I guess I'm moving back to Cairns sometime in the next month so hopefully we will get together to spend some lunch or drinks as well," Mike said hopeful.

He wanted to say a whole lot more, but a knock on the window prevented it.

"I guess that's my next appointment. I'm sorry Mike. Call me when you know something more and I'll tell James you're coming, OK?" and with that the meeting was over and Mike left her office.


	16. Commander 2

ADFA, January 21, 2018

Kate had put all her luggage in her room at the officer's quarters at ADFA. She hadn't told anyone at home she had gone shopping before she would arrive at ADFA, but she didn't know she had it in her to come back with five bags full of clothes, just for herself. Now she had changed into her dress whites and was on her way to the senior officer's mess.

Tomorrow she would start her week teaching, together with Mike. He had sent her numerous articles and titles of books he wanted her to read, but she didn't have enough time to read everything and hoped he wasn't going to rely too heavily on her. They hadn't seen each other since James' birthday and the dinner or drinks they had wanted to share hadn't happened yet. The only way they had kept in touch was via e-mail.

"Commander McGregor," someone said behind her.

Kate turned around and saw Maxine White.

"Commodore White," Kate greeted her old boss. "I didn't expect to see you here," she continued.

"Well, I can say the same about you. Are you still stationed in Cairns?" Maxine wondered. Kate nodded.

"And no plans to leave either," Kate added playfully.

"So what are you doing here?" Maxine asked. She was really interested.

"I promised Mike Flynn I wouldhelp him out," Kate answered.

Maxine looked towards the officer's mess and smiled. "The dynamic duo back together?" she teased. "He's sitting there, all by himself. You might want to keep him company, he seems so lonely," she added a bit more seriously.

Kate looked at the mess as well, but didn't know where to look to find Mike so she looked back at Maxine.

"Why don't you join us? Does he know you're here? I know for sure he would like your company as well," Kate stated, but Maxine shook her head.

"I'm sorry Kate. I'm really busy. Maybe another time," she answered.

Kate and Maxine said goodbye and Kate continued towards the mess where it didn't take her long to locate Mike. He was sitting all by himself, with his nose stuck in some papers.

"Commander Flynn," she said to attract his attention. "Or should I call you 'Finn' from now on?" she teased.

Mike stood up and greeted Kate. "How is it possible for you to look so good?" he wondered out loud.

Kate was a bit embarrassed by his statement and didn't know how to react to that.

"No, seriously McGregor. Something has happened in the past year," he continued while he let her sit down across the table from him. "Oh no, please don't tell me it's because of my absence in your life," he added dramatically.

Kate knew he was joking but there was a serious undertone to what he was saying. She laughed and shook her head. "If I had you in my life last year I would have looked even better today," she admitted.

They were good friends and, although they hadn't seen each other for over a year, they could pick up where they had once left off.

"It's just that I met…" before she could finish her sentence her phone started ringing.

"Sorry," she apologised while getting the device out to see who had interrupted their conversation.

"I've got to take this one."

Mike saw a twinkle in her eyes and he could almost guess who this could be. Motherhood had done her so much good and who could blame her. James was a wonderful kid. He would probably call her now to tell what he had been doing at school, but when Kate answered the phone and said 'Oh hi darling,' she didn't ask the questions he had expected.

"Yes I arrived safe and sound earlier today," Kate laughed.

Mike wondered who she could be talking to if this wasn't James.

"Robert, I'm at the mess right now," she warned the caller.

Mike had never heard the name 'Robert' before. Well, he couldn't see her having such a phone call with his old RO, whose name also was Robert.

"I'm going to have something to eat in a little while. Just met up with Mike," she explained her situation.

So the caller had to know who he was. Kate had told this Robert about him.

"What did you and James have for dinner?" she asked.

So, Robert was babysitting James, Mike thought.

"Fish and chips!" Kate exclaimed. "I did put enough veggies in the fridge," she added, still in shock.

"I'm a doctor Kate," Robert teased. "I know it's not _that_ bad to have fish and chips once in a while," he defended.

"I should have known," she sighed. "Oh well, you can nurse him back to good health if your food diet isn't working for my son," she teased as well.

Mike loved the playful banter he was witnessing. When Kate had been placed on the Hammersley all these years ago she was so stiff and inflexible, but now she was enjoying this and trusting the person on the other side of the line to take his responsibility. He knew for sure she would tell him who Robert was as soon as she would hung up the phone.

"What did you do today?" Robert asked, curiously.

Although he couldn't see it, Kate shrugged and revealed a bright smile on her face. "Shopping," she answered.

Robert started laughing as well and started whispering. "Did you try on any dresses?" he wondered.

Kate looked up and saw Mike staring at her, quietly playing with a napkin and waiting for her to finish her conversation.

"I wouldn't tell you," she answered. "But Rob, I'll talk to you soon, OK? I'm going to give Mike some of my attention and uhm," she looked at Mike again, knowing he would grant her a lovely stare back. "I'll tell him the good news," she finished her sentence.

Mike was intrigued now and stopped fiddling with the napkin, sat up straight and frowned. Kate didn't look at him anymore but had found a spot somewhere behind him to which she fixed her eyes. She wasn't scared or nervous, just smiling broadly like she was having this conversation with Robert as if he was the one sitting across the table from her.

"I love you too. Talk to you soon," she said before she pressed a button on her phone and put it down on the table in front of her.

Mike had so many questions but didn't know which one he should ask first. Maybe it was a good idea to let her decide what she wanted to share with him or not.

"That was Robert," Kate finally spoke as if that would explain everything.

"Do I know him?" he asked her.

Kate frowned and slowly shook her head. "I don't think you've met him in person yet. He wasn't at home at James' birthday party. He had to work," she answered.

_At home?_ Mike got more and more curious and couldn't hide it any longer.

"So who is he?" he asked eagerly. She must picture this Robert guy in front of her because she started smiling and glowing like a young schoolgirl.

"He's my fiancé," she said. She didn't say anything else but picked up her purse and got a white envelope out of it. She pushed it towards him.

"Open it," she invited him.

When he had thought about coming back to Cairns he had hoped he would be given a chance with Kate to see if there was a possibility for them to become a couple. He had never been able to get over her completely, not after he left her at ADFA, nor when she broke it off to finally run into Jim's grateful arms. He still loved her and knew that, after Jim was gone and James was born, Kate had _some_ feelings for him. They always were very amicable around each other but he knew that if they both committed to each other there could be much more. Up until a few seconds ago that was what he had thought, but she had just said she was engaged and the letter which was in front of him on the table wasn't just an invitation to a party. Did he really want to read what he thought this was going to be?

"Your fiancé," he repeated her words slowly. "I didn't even know you were seeing someone," he said, sounding a bit offended.

Kate bit her lip and looked up from her gaze at the envelope.

"I did tell you about Robert," she defended. "I think," she added a bit more insecure.

"No you didn't," Mike replied, trying to sound friendly even though he was losing his good mood.

"You're sure?" Kate quickly asking, placing her hand on top of the envelope and looking at Mike for an answer.

"I'm sure you didn't," he stated.

Kate wanted to pull the envelope from under Mike's hands and stop him from finding out what was in it. This was not how she had imagined this conversation to happen.

"Then you're going to be completely surprised by what you're going to hear now," she said, feeling the envelope move towards Mike anyway. "It's an invitation to our wedding. Next month. I wanted to give this to you personally. I did check with your secretary to find out if you're free that date," she said as quickly as she could.

Mike opened the envelope and removed the invitation.

"Next month?" he exclaimed when he saw the date. "Try three weeks!" he corrected her.

He kept looking at the nice card with Kate's name on it next to a Robert Prizeman.

"You're getting married in three weeks' time," he whispered, not able to hide his disappointment. Kate nodded and radiated happiness, but he couldn't return that feeling.

"Congratulations," he almost sighed.

"Will you come?" she eagerly asked, not realising Mike's change of attitude.

"I, uhm, I," he stammered and stood up.

"I'm not hungry anymore and I've got to do a lot before tomorrow's class. I'll see you there," he said before he walked away, leaving the invitation on the table.


	17. Commander 3

Mike saw her sitting on the top of the hill. They had sent the students off into the Blue Mountains for their navigational test and now they were on their own again. Last night he had been thinking about the whole situation and how rude he had been towards Kate, but he didn't know how he could have done it any differently. He was so disappointed and sad, but that wasn't Kate's fault and he should tell her that.

"Can I sit down here?" he quietly asked when he reached her.

She shrugged without taking her gaze away from the tree lines at the horizon.

"It looks pretty here, doesn't it?" he tried some small talk.

He looked at Kate to see if she would react to anything he said but she was ignoring him.

"I'm sorry about my behaviour last night," he sighed, looking at the same spot she was looking at. Kate turned her head quickly towards him before she turned her gaze back to the horizon.

"I thought you would be happy for me," she whispered. She sighed and then quietly added: "But I should apologise as well."

Mike looked at Kate, in shock, and saw how she had quickly looked at him and was still turning her head back to the spot on the horizon. He didn't understand why she wanted to apologise or what for.

"I thought you knew about me and Robert," Kate elaborated when he didn't respond to her. "I'm sorry I waited until yesterday to invite you. Maybe I should have sent yours together with the others," she added.

She sounded so genuine, it made him feel even worse about leaving her behind the way he did.

"He makes you happy. I can see that. Oh Kate, I _am_ happy for you," he smiled.

Kate looked at him, surprised.

"When I came into Navcom last November you were positively glowing. I've never seen you so happy and relaxed," he admitted. Now Kate started to laugh loudly and hit him playfully on his arm.

"No, seriously!" Mike said.

"Will you come to the wedding?" she asked, still a bit unsure, but Mike threw his arm around her shoulder and hugged her.

"Of course!" he exclaimed.

"Only if you tell me everything," he quickly added. "I want to know how you got to know each other. How he asked you. What your dress will look like. If he's good to James," he asked his last question a bit slower, making it sound very serious.

Kate was glad they were talking to each other again and that he wanted to come after all. She had been really scared he wouldn't want to, although she still didn't understand what had happened last night.

"I will, only if _you_ tell me why you ran off," she said, breaking free from his embrace.

They looked at each other, waiting for the other to begin, but neither of them did. Mike didn't know where to start his explanation or if he should be the one to start talking. It didn't matter anymore anyway and he was far more interested in the man who was making Kate such a happy woman. He picked up her hand and entwined his fingers with hers.

"He must be fantastic," he prodded her, hoping she would soon start talking.

Kate opened her mouth but at that moment a group of students appeared from between the trees below the rocks they were sitting on.

"Sir! I thought the non-fraternisation rules were for everyone in the navy," one of the smart ones yelled, his hands around his mouth to make the sound travel further.

Mike let go of Kate's hand but Kate grabbed his before she yelled back: "You're right about that! Luckily friendships are allowed in the navy and he just congratulated me in a very navy style; shaking hands. Get used to it."

Mike smiled and tried to see who the students were, a few meters below them.

"Are we the first one to hit this checkpoint?" one of the other students yelled.

Mike nodded, turned around to get his backpack and got a folder out. "Give me your names and I'll cross them off," he yelled back.

The names were given and the students moved along. Every time Kate or Mike wanted to say something personal another group of students came by to be checked off the list. In the end Mike and Kate had to get moving to the next spot themselves. They had found a good space for them all to spend the night and they didn't want to be the last ones to show up there.

Strangely enough, while walking they didn't talk at all. It wasn't until they had reached the makeshift campsite before they finally sat down on a fallen tree. Mike had made a small fire and Kate had put her billy to boil, making some tea.

"Are you nervous for the wedding?" Mike asked.

He didn't think so, but he had been wrong about Kate before and she wasn't someone who showed her feelings easily. She could be scared to death for all he knew.

"Nervous? About the vows you mean?" she wondered.

"Well," Mike tried to clarify his thinking, "anything actually," he shrugged.

Kate laughed and shook her head. "No, not at all. It's not going to be a grand wedding with many guests. A simple ceremony down at the beach with some good friends, that's it," Kate answered confidently.

Whoever this Robert Prizeman was, he had done nothing but good for Kate. Still, a small ceremony seemed so wrong!

"No white wedding dress? Come on Kate, that's what the male population attending weddings want to see," he teased.

Kate just laughed. Robert had been asking about what she was going to wear ever since she had agreed to marry him. She had even tried on wedding dresses in a bridal shop but it had seemed so wrong that she had decided not to wear a traditional dress. What she _was_ going to wear was still not completely set. She could try and find a beautiful dress or simply marry in her official dress whites.

"Please Kate, give me the chance to see you in a princess like wedding dress, walking down the…" Mike stopped, realising Kate wouldn't marry in a church as far as he knew so she wouldn't be walking down any aisles. "The beach," he finally said, glad he could finish his sentence.

"Princess perfect, in a perfect princess dress," he added, knowing he would be hit in a second or having Kate debating him, telling that she would never, ever, marry in a dress like that, but all that happened was that Kate shrugged and said: "I tried on several dresses. It just didn't feel right."

Mike wanted to reply to her but Kate gave him a very confident smile before she shrugged again.

"You know how I tried on a wedding dress all those years ago? When Jim had asked me to marry him? Well, it didn't feel right then for the same reason it didn't feel right this time. White wedding dresses suggest purity, virginity and I'm neither one of them," she explained solemnly.

Mike didn't completely agree with her. OK, she wasn't a virgin anymore, but at least half the brides who married nowadays had lost their virginity long before the wedding night. 'Purity' was a debatable word. It was more how you looked at it and the way _he_ did she could fit that description perfectly. Was there another reason why she wouldn't want to marry in a 'real' wedding dress, he would like to know, but the billy started to boil and for a minute Kate projected all her attention to the water to make a cup of coffee. When she sat back down on the log and had handed him a cup he coughed slightly before he looked at Kate again.

"You know I was joking about the princess dress," he started before he blew in the cup to cool off the still boiling water. "Have you decided what you're going to wear instead?" he asked.

He monitored her reaction, hoping she would explain her thoughts some more but all she did was shake her head and look confidently at him.

"It doesn't really matter what I wear anyway. Robert loves me the way I am," she stated.

It was the end of the discussion about any dress. It was useless to keep bugging her about it if she didn't know herself so he left it at that and sealed off the topic with a nod.

"Where did you meet him? You want to tell some more about the man who's stealing you away from the single female market?" Mike asked before he took a sip of his coffee.

It had cooled off a bit but he still almost burned his tongue. Quickly he spat the coffee out and looked to see if there was anything he could use to cool down the tingling feeling in his mouth.

A little bit away from the fire were their overnight bags and on his was a container with cold water attached. As if his mouth was on fire he gulped the cool liquid which resulted in Kate laughing before she demonstratively blew in her cup of coffee.

"We weren't having a drinking competition, were we?" she said while he walked back to the log and sat down.

He wanted to give her a playful push but, scared she was going to spill the hot liquid over her body he decided not to do so and just gave her a disapproving stare.

"You were just asking where I met Robert, but the way you're going you're going to meet him sooner than later," she chuckled cryptically.

His disapproving stare changed into one of non-understanding.

"Oh _Finn_," Kate teased him, not able to hold her laughter. "Your facial expressions are priceless."

Mike knew he was the subject of ridicule and that he had to find something to throw back at her or she was going to use this for a long long time. He wanted to say something but Kate beat him to it.

"I met Robert in the hospital. Actually… no… well… he met me long before…" she started, searching for the right moment and the right words.

"No," she corrected herself. "I met him about fifteen months ago. You remember that day James had fallen off his bike and cut his arm open?" she asked him.

Mike couldn't remember it clearly but to speed up the conversation a bit he answered affirmatively.

"Well, Robert was the doctor who stitched James' arm. We couldn't say anything to each other at that moment, we were both in uniform and in a patient doctor relationship, but soon after that I saw him at a café. We had a drink, went out for dinner and one thing lead to another and,"

"Now you're getting married," Mike finished her sentence.

"Yes, now we're getting married," Kate repeated his words with a big smile on her face.

"You said he met you long before," Mike asked, really not knowing what she had meant by it. He looked at Kate and waited for her to swallow her coffee.

"That's still very hot," she informed him before she put the tin down and folded her hands.

"Remember my ordeal in Tovalu?" she began.

Mike could remember that time very well but couldn't imagine what that had to do with meeting Robert.

"I was picked up by HMAS Towoomba and Robert was the doctor taking care of me. He has all these memories of what a difficult patient I was and how I tried to sneak out of the medical ward but I don't remember him at all," Kate chuckled.

Mike let this information sink in for a moment. She was so happy and, although he had never met Robert, he sounded like a nice guy. He just wasn't over his own disappointment completely, but he didn't want to let that simmer through so he smiled until he remembered what happened at Navcom; the two sailors discussing two lovebirds.

"He's navy isn't he?" he asked. Kate nodded but looked surprised. Robert had been the medical officer on board of a frigate. Of course he was navy!

"You noticed," she said, a bit teasingly, hoping Mike was trying to be funny as well.

He shrugged. "You said you were both in uniform when you met, but that's not how I know. When I came to visit you at Navcom there were two sailors discussing you. I didn't know it was you back then but they talked about a man who's a Lieutenant Commander and the woman was higher in rank."

Kate's jaw dropped and she felt her cheeks redden. Mike hadn't told her anything of what they had been talking about but she could guess. She knew her own people and could fill in the blanks he wasn't sharing with her right now.

"Oh Kate, despite me running away last night I am glad for you," Mike suddenly said and before she could react to that he put his arms around her and hugged her in a tight embrace.

Kate could smell Mike's aftershave and felt his body pressed against hers when behind them a group of students appeared.

"I thought you said only handshakes were valid," a young man's voice was heard.

"Maybe we should give them our handbooks and let them recite the non-fraternisation rules to us. They might learn from it," someone else said.

Mike let go of her body and Kate straightened her uniform before she stood up to inspect the students who had arrived. She would just ignore their cocky talk and smack them with something else they had done wrong.

Mike was a bit sad the students had found the final spot of the day so soon. He had a few more questions he wanted to ask Kate, but they had to wait now. Maybe the course he had put out for today had been too easy because within the hour all students were back at the camp. They spent some relaxing moments before they turned off the lights and went to sleep.


	18. Commander 4

"Listen up! I'm only going to say this once," Kate said loudly.

The few voices of the students who were still talking died away. When all of them looked at her Kate started to speak again.

"Today we're going to do an individual test. You'll all going to plan your course through the mountains, trying to get to the final destination as fast as you can. Throughout the day you'll get new coordinates which you have to hit before going to your final spot," Kate started to explain.

Briefly she looked around the group to see if she hadn't 'lost' anyone yet with her talk.

"You want to say something Midshipman Bramwell?" she harshly asked when she saw a young man look disinterestedly around him.

"Ma'am, why are we doing this here and not out at sea? We're navy and not army," he said disapprovingly.

Mike had told her about this particular Midshipman and she had been looking at his attitude during the week. They were out in the field for the past four days and there hadn't been a day he hadn't complained about something.

"We can hardly put you each on a ship and let you navigate around Sydney harbour, now can we? Secondly navigation is the skill we're testing you on, not solely a navy subject. If you can navigate here, you can navigate anywhere," she added to which most of the students nodded.

Midshipman Bramwell gave her an indecisive glance but she had no time to spend on people like him. With his attitude he wouldn't last long in any armed force.

"Like I said, we can't put you all on a ship of your own, I hope I don't have to explain why, but we are supplying you with a new device we are testing for the government. It's a hand held radar with map and GPS function. The first thing you'll need to do is find your way, second the device will alert you when you're within a two-hundred meter radius of one of your classmates. It's like being a boat and you don't want to ram into each other," Kate joked. "Don't come into that circle if you don't have to. There are a few exceptions, like when you can't go left or right because of a cliff, but if you do anyway when you don't have to you'll lose points," she continued more seriously.

Mike had been listening to her talk without saying anything. He didn't have to because she was coping splendidly. He did keep an eye on Bramwell, who was not paying much attention to what she was saying. He didn't even notice it when she started handing out the devices. He looked startled and it looked like he wondered what he should do; leave already or stay around a bit longer.

"One last thing," Kate said when everyone had something in his or her hand. "The distances you all have to travel are about the same. Only one is a bit longer. I looked at your grades so far and saw that Midshipman Richards has the highest. Would you mind taking the longest route Midshipman?" she asked.

A brown haired man in his early twenties nodded. "No worries," he said as well.

"Don't think about cheating. Commander Flynn and I can monitor you. If you need any assistance you simply press the green button and a screen will pop up so we can talk to you and help if necessary," she continued while showing where the button was located.

"We'll let you go off on your journeys one by one. the device will let you know who goes first and in which direction. Success!" Kate finished.

"You're a born teacher," Mike complimented her when all students had left and they were on their own way to the final destination of the day.

It would take the students at least a few hours but they didn't have to take the detour the students had.

"I just imagine them as big kids. They need to do what I say and then there's no problems," she replied cheekily.

Mike chuckled. That was a way to look at it, although that was not how she raised James at all. She was a loving and caring mother who took her son seriously and always took the time to listen to him.

"Talking about kids," Mike said, changing the subject a bit. "How did James react to the proposal? Does he like the idea of you getting married?" he asked.

Kate thought back at the night when Robert had asked them to become a real family. Robert had taken them out for dinner to their favourite restaurant. James had been really excited although she had never found out why. She took him out to dinner on a regular base and in the months leading up to that night Robert had joined them many times. One reason she could think of for his excitement was that he already knew what was going to happen, but that didn't match with his total surprise when Robert had popped the question. It didn't really matter so she never had tried to find out.

Robert had given James a present; a large picture frame which was divided into smaller frames. In the middle one there was a picture of Jim and around that one there were pictures of James, one of her and of James and her together. One frame was still empty and Robert had asked James if he would like it to become a real family; a boy with a mother _and_ a father. Both of them had looked at her and while James replied that he would love that very much. Robert got a small box from the pocket of his shirt. He had asked her to marry him and after she said yes Robert kissed her while James was applauding and cheering them on.

"He adores Robert and is very happy. He's proud his mummy is getting married and that he's going to be a part of the ceremony," Kate mused.

She could still remember how she had brought James to bed that night. He couldn't stop talking about it and wondering if he could tell his friends at school the next day. The next morning he had even stunned her by asking if he would have to change his name as well now that she was going to be Mrs Prizeman.

Mike saw the distant glance in Kate's eyes and wondered if he should ask any further or if he should stop before she would tell him details he didn't want to hear.

"I'm glad to hear that," he simply stated.

It was the truth. James Roth was a little boy who had lost his father even before he was born but he had so many other men in his life to make up for his loss. Mike had always been proud to be a part of that group of men.

They arrived at the spot where all students would return at the end of the day. Only one more night out in the open before they would go back to the comforts of ADFA. Kate and Mike started setting up a little camp and turned on the laptop they had with them.

"Most of them are making good time," Mike said after he saw the various dots on the screen.

"True," Kate said, moving the mouse over the screen to zoom in on a few she thought couldn't have made it that far already.

"I'm glad they haven't come too close to each other," she added.

"Hey Mike, why do you think those students stopped," she asked after realising about half of the students hadn't moved for a few minutes.

Mike shrugged. There could be any number of reasons for that like taking a little break and get something to eat. He himself was getting hungry as well. Luckily he still had some coffee in his thermos which he had made earlier that morning.

"You want a brew?" he offered. Kate looked up from her laptop, but instead of answering him she looked behind him.

"I know why they've stopped," she said alarmed. Mike didn't know what she was talking about and frowned, quickly turning around to see what was taking her interest.


	19. Commander 6

Behind him was a dark cloud and within seconds of noticing it, the rain started. Kate closed the laptop and shielded it with her body but couldn't shield all the other papers laying around on the table. Mike tried to grab as many of them as he could and then draped his body around Kate's to make sure she wouldn't get soaked. The rain poured down in big drops, hitting them hard.

"Where did this come from?" he yelled, trying to get on top of the sounds of the falling rain.

"Are you serious?" Kate wondered as she tried to get from underneath him. "We're in the mountains if you haven't noticed it. We didn't see it because of the range, but now I know why all those students stopped. They were taking cover," she continued.

"Will you let go of me?" she added aggressively. "Our bags are there," she pointed out to the spot which had already turned into a mud pool.

"I do want some clean clothes for…" she screamed, running away which made it impossible to hear her last words.

Both tried to get their stuff to drier places but when the rain storm had passed they both were close to being soaked. Kate looked up to the sky, which by now had returned to a dull grey with some blue stripes cutting through. The one thing she really had tried to keep dry was the laptop and now the rain had passed she could open it again to see if all the students were OK, but as soon as she opened it a few screens popped open with pleas from several students.

"Mike!" she said alarmed. "Something's gone wrong."

Mike looked over Kate's shoulder and listened to the message Midshipman Richards had left just a few minutes ago.

"Susie Reynolds has fallen down a cliff. She's on a ledge but can't get back up without help. In her fall she lost her device and hasn't been able to raise the alarm. According to my own device she dropped it and it's about fifty meters below her. Bramwell had seen her dot on his screen but stayed out of the two hundred meter circle. I've ordered him to stay on top of the cliff while I'm going to find a way to get down to her. We can see her but she doesn't respond. I'm not sure why you're not responding right now but I guess the rain storm has hit wherever you are. Please get us some help as soon as you get this message," Midshipman Richard's video message said.

Kate closed her eyes and wondered how they could deal with this situation without panicking the other students. According to their screen most of them were still on the move, so they hadn't found out about the unfortunate fall of Midshipman Reynolds. Maybe it was best if that was the case for now. In the meantime someone had to go check out Bramwell, Richards and Reynolds. Since it was her assignment she felt a real responsibility so she nodded and exhaled loudly before she looked at Mike and stated: "You stay here and wait for the others. I'm going to see what's going on. Is that alright with you?" she asked.

Kate took her own device with her, together with a radio and a phone. It was a half an hour walk to get to Bramwell, who was sitting on top of a cliff. He jumped up when he saw her getting closer.

"It wasn't my fault ma'am," he started.

Kate came closer and guided him away from the edge before she said anything.

"We'll talk about that later. Have you heard anything yet from Richards or Reynolds?" she asked.

Bramwell shook his head and looked down. "He went down about twenty minutes ago ma'am," he answered.

"Can we see Reynolds from up here?" Kate wanted to know. Bramwell shrugged.

"Richards said he could but I don't want to get too close to the edge ma'am," he answered.

Kate started to wonder what had happened and what part Bramwell had played in this accident but the first priority now was to get Reynolds back up safely. Kate crawled on her stomach to the edge and saw Richards arrive at a ledge where Reynolds was still laying.

"How is she?" she hollered down. Richards looked up and shook his head.

"She's alive but I can't get her up on my own. We need professional help ma'am," he hollered back.

"Is she breathing? Has she broken anything?" Kate wanted to know.

Richards checked a few signs before he looked up again.

"I guess a few broken bones, but I'm not a doctor. I don't want to move her," he replied.

Kate nodded and crawled back a bit but then realised she should tell Richards what she was going to do so she crawled back.

"I'm going to get a rescue team to come in. Can you stay with her?" she asked.

"That's fine ma'am. I don't think it's safe for me to come back up in the first place. Please tell the rescue team hurry up," he added.

The rescue team arrived just as the evening was about to set in. Everyone was cold and dirty but they needed to work as a team to get Reynolds and Richards back up safely and not complain about their own problems. Kate made Bramwell stay since she had the feeling he knew more about the situation than he let on. It became quite clear he didn't know what to do with himself and eventually he was distracting the rescue team too much. She had many questions for him but at the moment it was best for him to go back to Mike and the campsite where all the other students had gathered.

The rescue team existed of a few big chested guys who went to work swiftly. They had all kinds of gear with them to build a scaffold but with the continuing rain the ground had become too muddy. After a few tries to get down to the patient they realised that was going to be harder than they thought. In the end they had lowered their medical kit and a radio towards Richards and instructed him to help out Reynolds.

Kate wondered how in the world they were going to get them back up when not even one man was able to go down but the rescue workers seemed to have a plan.

"Ma'am we need your help. We can't use the scaffold so the only option we have is to lower someone down who can pick up your sailor, the rescue co-ordinator said. You're the only one who is light enough to do it.

It's seriously the only option we still have," one of the rescuers said to her.

Kate looked at the scaffold which was made of metal tubes and lots of rope. The tubes were stuck between rocks, but that had been the problem. Because of the rain the rocks, and the mud between them, weren't holding as well as they should do.

She knew she could abseil but could she risk going down when even the most experienced men couldn't?

"We'll put in a few safety measures, of course," another rescuer pitched in.

"If we don't do something now we'll all have to wait until morning before we can bring them up," the first man spoke.

Kate closed her eyes and weighed the options.

"What's Reynold's condition?" she asked.

_If_ she was going to risk her own life she needed to be sure it was in the course of saving someone else's.

"Broken leg, broken arm, concussion and possible internal bleeding," one of the men spoke. He touched her upper arm and looked at her. "We wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't necessary, but your colleague needs to go to hospital as soon as possible," he explained.

There was no other option so Kate nodded. The rescue co-ordinator guided her to one of the men to help her get geared up. She had radioed to Mike to get as many strong men and women to help her get down and later on get back up. She was about ready to descend when Mike arrived with a group of students.

"What the hell do you think you're doing McGregor?" he said, quickly coming towards her, grabbing her away from the edge.

"You can't do this," he said.

Kate shook her head and pushed him away before looking down to the place where two of their sailors were waiting for help for hours now.

"And I can't sit here and do nothing," she replied.

Mike exhaled and shook his head in revulsion. "You're going to get married in two weeks! And what about James, he has already lost his father?" You seriously want to jeopardise your life right now?" he threw at her.

The rescue workers didn't wait for Mike's approval and started instructing the sailors what to do. They were lined up and given a piece of the rope to hold, the rope that was attached to Kate's harness.

"If you don't want to watch then I advise you to go back to the camp and wait for me there," she said to Mike, making sure he couldn't stop her from going down.

Mike sighed and dropped his shoulders in defeat. "You be careful Kate. Those rocks are wet and slippery," he stated.

Kate nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "I will. Will you help?" she asked.

Mike went down to the students and lined up as well. He still didn't agree with Kate's decision completely, but he knew he couldn't stop her. He knew she could do this job and that he should trust her but he was seriously scared something would go wrong and that he would have to go back to Cairns to tell James and this Robert Prizeman, whom he had never met, that something had happened to Kate. It wasn't something he wanted to do.

Kate leaned backwards and gave the people on top one last look. She had to trust them to get her down safely. Mike was standing in line with the others and she was happy about it. It felt good that he was protective of her, even though she didn't need it. One of the rescue workers was flat on his belly and was going to guide her down.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

Kate exhaled and then nodded. "Oh wait," she stopped herself. "I don't even know your name. You've said it, I know for sure but I can't remember," she looked at him.

"Steven," he answered with a smile. "So _Kate_ are you ready?" he teased her, letting her know he hadn't forgotten hers.

Kate looked down and made the first jump over the edge. She was told not to go too fast, but she went further than she had anticipated.

"Steady," Steven urged her. Kate leaned with her feet against the rocks and looked down to where she wanted to go next.

"Go a bit to your left. There's a ledge you can put your feet on," he advised her.

She saw what he meant and made the jump but when she tried to place her feet she slipped and banged her body against the rock before she just hung there.

She screamed.

Her heart was racing but she didn't slip any further down.

"Kate, are you alright?" she heard both Richards from down under and Steven from up top ask her.

Kate took a few deep breaths and exhaled before she looked up to answer Steven but it hurt. By tilting her head up she tightened the skin on her chin which then started to burn. With one hand she felt what was wrong and noticed she was bleeding.

"Yeah I'm fine," she answered, not wanting to go into detail about her scratch.

"OK, can we continue?" Steven asked her.

Kate only nodded and placed her feet against the wall again.

"Just take it easy," he said.

Kate reached Richards and Reynolds not much later. Together with Richards she geared Reynolds up to be taken up.

"We're ready," she hollered up, to which she heard Steven instruct the sailors to start pulling. It didn't take long before everyone was back on top and Reynolds was checked by the rescue workers. Mike walked up to Kate and put his hand around her chin to lift it up.

"Let me clean that for you," he offered.

He cleaned her chin and put some ointment on it. It was the first time in years he had been this close to her, except from giving her a hug. She looked so fragile and small with the scratch on her chin, dirty uniform and being completely drenched.

"Is it bad?" Kate asked him. He smiled and shook his head.

"You're going to be fine and don't worry. I don't think you will notice it in a week or so," he answered.

She was relieved but he realised it had shaken her up more than she probably wanted to admit so he put his arms around her and hugged her.

"Ouch, ow," Kate moaned when Mike pressed her head hard against his body.

"Be careful with me," she said after he let go of her.

"You did great," Mike praised her before touching her chin with his thumb. She tried to smile but that hurt as well and she was tired, ready to go back to the officer's quarters where she could take a long warm bath.

"I hope Reynolds is going to be fine," she said, trying to keep the conversation going. Mike was a bit too flattering towards her and it made her feel a little bit uncomfortable because she didn't know what to think of it. Why was he doing this? How should she react to him?


	20. Commander 7

That night Kate had just taken a long shower when there was a knock on her door. Her first instinct was to ignore it, but when the knocking didn't stop she realised it could be the medical officer. When she had returned to Watson's Bay she was given an extra check-up by the medical officer. He discovered a few other bruises on her body which she got from her hit against the rock. Nothing too serious, but he wanted her to take extra good care of them, especially after Mike had told the guy she was getting married soon. The medical officer had then told her he could bring her a medicine, which would help get rid of the bruises quicker, while she freshened up in her quarters.

Quickly Kate put on her robe and looked through the peephole in the door to check if it was the medical officer with the promised medicine. It wasn't him. It turned out to be Mike.

She didn't want to open the door since she wasn't properly dressed yet and to be really honest all she wanted was to get the medicine and then call Robert before having an early night. She leaned against the door, hoping Mike would get the hint and move away.

"Kate? Kate, I know you're here. I guess you're still in the bathroom so I'll come back in about five minutes. I've got the medicine for you," Mike told her through the closed door before she heard him move away.

He got her medicine? How had he ended up with that? She didn't have much time to think about that because he would be back soon and probably wouldn't give up before he had seen her himself. Five minutes. That would give her enough time to get dressed, at least decently enough to open the door and get the medicine.

From her wardrobe she got a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a hoody to put on. She hadn't even had the chance to have a look in the mirror before Mike started knocking again. This time she decided to open the door slightly.

"I got your medicine," he stated, showing her a paper bag.

Kate opened the door a bit further and wanted to take the bag from him but then he pulled a package from underneath his uniform and showed it to her.

"And Tim Tams," he added playfully.

Kate started laughing. She should have known he would remember her chocolate cravings. She opened the door and stepped aside to let him enter her room.

"Come in and give those to me," she said, taking the Tim Tams from him and putting them down on her night stand.

Mike walked in and put the paper bag on the desk before turning around to face Kate as she was closing the door.

"How are you feeling?" he wondered, which was greeted by a shrug. Of course Kate McGregor wouldn't tell him she was tired or run down.

Kate smiled but didn't answer him. Instead she walked towards the desk and grabbed the bag of medicine from it. In it was a tube of ointment which would do the trick. The last thing she wanted was to marry Robert with a bruised body. She got the medication out of the bag but then realised she couldn't apply it when Mike was still in the room, some of her bruises were on her thighs.

"Did you want a cup of tea with those Tim Tams or were they all for me?" she asked him, putting the tube of ointment back on the table.

Mike nodded. Of course he wouldn't mind spending time with her, but would she want to spend time with him? "If you don't mind," he said.

Kate shrugged again. What she really wanted was to make the phone call and then go to sleep, but a cup of tea wouldn't be something to knock down and maybe she could ask Mike some questions. They were alone and probably wouldn't be disturbed, at least not by passing students.

"Could you heat some water while I apply the medicine?" she asked him, letting him know she didn't oppose him being there.

"Sure," was the swift reply.

While Kate took the tube into the bathroom she wondered why Mike was here. Of course, they were friends and he wanted to be sure she was OK after her slip at the rock, but he clearly still had feelings for her. That's what she had noticed earlier today and that must have been the reason he had run away after she had handed him the invitation at the beginning of the week.

With a shocked look on her face she looked at herself in the mirror. She had never meant to hurt him and all she had thought she had done was hurting him by giving the invitation late. How could she have been so naïve?

Quickly she applied the ointment to her bruises before she walked back into her room.

"Mike," she started. He was pouring hot water into two cups and wasn't aware of her realisation yet.

"Mike, can I ask you something?" she continued seriously.

He stopped momentarily to look at her before he continued hanging the tea bags into the cups. "Of course you can," he answered, without looking at her.

Kate came closer slowly and sat down at the edge of her bed. "Why did you run away from the mess a week ago?" she asked. "You know, I thought it had to do with the fact that I hadn't told you about the wedding until now, but today, after my hit I could feel there was something else," she started explaining her question.

Mike sighed and sat down next to her. Did he have to be angry because it had taken her a full week to notice his feelings? It was so clear that she was in love with Robert that her thinking must have been affected, so in the end she couldn't be blamed. He couldn't be angry with her!

There was an awkward silence as both of them tried to get their thoughts into words. Finally it was Kate who was the first one to start talking again.

"You still love me, don't you?" she said. "Mike, I want you to love me," she said resolutely.

He was amazed by her statement and turned towards her with his jaw almost hitting the floor.

"I want you to love me like I love you," Kate explained.

"As friends?" he asked to be sure.

"Yes," she said. "I hope you will still be friends with me but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't come to the wedding…"

"Not come to the wedding?" Mike exclaimed. "I told you I was coming and that hasn't changed!"

"Well, I would understand it if you didn't want to be present when I marry someone else. I mean if you still love me," she sighed.

Mike wanted to take her hand in his, that was what he would have done if the situation had been different. Halfway through the motion he stopped and threw his hands up in the air before letting them come down on his knees.

"Yes, I was hurt when I saw the wedding invitation, but this week I've been thinking a lot and I can't blame you for continuing your life," he said quickly. He didn't want to stop and let Kate say something. He needed to finish his thought before it passed away.

"You look so happy and you smile every time you mention his name. I…"

"That's what I want for you too! I want you to be happy," Kate interrupted him, but Mike shook his head.

"I can't! You're in my heart and I'm scared to let you go," he said, shaking his head and feeling he was about to lose it.

"Mike, listen to me. you're in my heart as well and you will always have a part of it," she said, putting her hand on her chest. "You've taught me so much. Literally, since you were my teacher once, but most of all you taught me to open up and because of that…" she stopped abruptly and looked away from him.

"No, please continue," he encouraged her.

"It's because of you that I could open up to others," she almost whispered. "If it wasn't for you I had never engaged myself in a relationship with Jim or with Robert," she silently continued, almost afraid he would be angry now.

Mike smiled. It was ironic, but at the same time he was really proud he had helped her, even if he didn't know how.

"Would we have ever worked?" he asked out of the blue.

Kate shrugged and shook her head, then sighed. "We never really tried, did we?" she answered.

Mike wished he could deny that statement, but he couldn't so he sighed as well. "What if we _had_ tried? Would we have worked?" he tried again.

"Please don't go there," she begged. "It's no use. We're only going to hurt ourselves if we think of the would haves and could haves. Let's face it. You left me to save my career and I did the same for yours. If we really, and I mean _really_ wanted to be together we would have found a way."

He knew she was right. He dropped his shoulders in defeat and didn't know what else to say.

"You're a wonderful man Mike Flynn," she stated. "Show yourself to the world and I'm sure there's a wonderful woman out there for you. It doesn't have to be tomorrow or next week, but I would hate to see you whining away on your own. There's too much love in that heart of yours," she said, placing her hand over his chest.

Mike smiled and was fighting against his tears. "This is why I love you Kate McGregor," he sighed before he continued. "You're a great lady and I really wished things would be different," he paused and tried to make eye contact. "Can I make one request?" he continued, sounding a bit softer.

Kate nodded and smiled. "Always."

"I would love to meet your new man before the wedding. Would that be possible?" he asked.

"We'll make time for that!" Kate replied powerfully. "I'll keep Hammersley in town somewhere next week. That way I can leave James with his godfather so we have some uninterrupted time for grown-ups," she smiled.

Mike picked up his cup of tea and handed Kate hers. "Cheers," he said.


	21. Commander 8

Kate had come home late in the afternoon. She had picked up James from his grandparents and taken him home to find an empty house and a note from Robert on the table telling her that there was an emergency at the hospital and that it could be late before he would be back home. She had waited up for Robert as long as she could but she was knackered. Even if Robert had been home, she wanted to have an early night. After a long hot bath she had curled up underneath the blanket and had fallen asleep like a log only to be woken up by wet, soft kisses.

"Kate, sweetie, I'm home," someone whispered in her ear and kissed her on her cheek.

Kate opened her eyes and saw through her eyelashes that it was Robert who had kissed her.

"Hey," she moaned. "What time is it?" she pulled herself up on her elbows and tried to look at her alarm clock but she couldn't see the time so she let herself fall back into the pillow.

"It's only nine o'clock," Robert answered her question. "So I was a bit surprised to come home to a darkened house. Has the past week been so tiresome?" he asked.

"Yeah," was all she could answer.

There was a lot more she wanted to tell him about but she was still only half awake and wanted nothing more than to keep her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes again she saw Robert's worried look on his face. Did she look that bad? He was about to place his hand on her forehead when she thought it was going too far. There was nothing wrong with her, she simply needed another minute to wake up!

"I'm not sick and that scratch on my chin will heal perfectly fine," she grunted, a bit more aggressively than she had anticipated before she pulled the sheet over her face.

"Sorry," she said from underneath the sheet, realising Robert might not understand what was going on. She pulled the sheet down again so she could see him and when he smiled at her she sighed out of relief.

"Can I get a hug?" she pleaded.

Robert pulled her up and placed his arms around her body. He had missed this, he had missed her, even more than usual, and he couldn't figure out why. She had been away before and _he_ had been away before so what was so different this time? It couldn't be that she was away with Mike Flynn. Of course he knew about the relationship Kate and Mike had shared, but that wasn't a threat to _their_ relationship, he knew that. Kate had never given him the impression she doubted her choice for him. That said, he had been happy to hear Kate was less than pleased with Mike after the first day in Sydney.

"I love you Kate," he stated.

Kate smiled at his declaration and kissed him passionately.

"You better or I'm not going to marry you," she teased him. She was fully awake by now and loved having Robert in her arms again.

"Not going to marry me?" he exclaimed. "Oh please Kate, _please_," he played along.

Kate chuckled. If she played this right she could get a lot more than passionate kisses.

"Well, I don't know sir," she tried to sound serious, failing miserably. "You weren't very nice to me and I could get a lovely offer from an old friend," she teased.

"One Mike Flynn?" Robert asked as if he had nothing to lose if it was Mike he was up against.

"Him?" Kate grouched. "No I'm talking about Finn," she corrected.

"Finn?" Robert asked, forgetting about their little act and seriously wondering about who Finn could be.

"Yes, Finn," Kate stated again but then she hit him playfully at his chest.

"You know how silly you look?" she asked him.

Robert suddenly remembered again that Kate had told him about Finn, or Mike and his anagram, and smiled sheepishly.

"That'll teach you," she said. She sounded playful but there was a serious undertone to what she was saying.

"What did I do?" he asked as innocently as he could.

"You know very well what you did," Kate replied with a smile. "I went to Malcolm and Terry's and saw James sitting at the couch with his book in his hands. He looked up and said: 'oh no, now I won't get any more fish finger dinners!' before he even hugged me!" Kate exclaimed.

"Terry couldn't stop laughing and Mal was having fun as well. When they finally stopped they told me you had ordered my son to be unkind to me," Kate pouted.

She didn't sound angry and now he wished he had been there to see her face.

"I did take a picture of every dinner which James shoved inside him," he said, letting her know they didn't only eat fish and chips in the past week.

"Shoved?" Kate disputed his choice of words but he simply kissed her and hugged her again. It was time to stop teasing and debating each other for a while and be serious.

Kate was glad James was responding so well to Robert. The boy had never been difficult around others but this was different. To her it was really important that James accepted Robert in his life and so far there were nothing but good stories to tell. Robert did question her on a few parenting skills and eating habits were one of them. He hadn't just picked the word 'shove' for nothing but it seemed Robert didn't want to discuss it right now.

"Did you see the brochures I put on the table?" he asked curiously, changing the subject radically.

Kate hadn't seen anything special when she had come home, other than the mail and some stuff which James or Robert hadn't put away yet.

"Brochures?" she wondered.

"The travel brochures I got from the travel agency," he clarified.

Kate shrugged and tried to remember what she had seen on the table. "I don't remember. I think I've mistaken them for advertisement. Is it really important?" she asked.

"Wait, I'll get them," Robert said without answering her question. He got up from the bed and left the bedroom.

"Robert! Wait!" Kate yelled, while getting out of the bed and slipping her feet into her slippers to follow him.

Kate went downstairs and walked into the living room where Robert was looking for the brochures. They weren't on the spot where he had left them because he was lifting different stacks of papers and exhaled irritably.

"What's so important about them now?" Kate asked while she put her arms around his waist and put her head against his back.

"I thought we said we wouldn't go on a trip for a while," she said against his shirt.

He smelled so good, sometimes she still couldn't believe she was lucky enough to have him in her life.

"Oh here they are," he said, bending forward making it impossible for her to hold on to him so she let go of him.

Robert showed Kate the brochures he had gotten from the travel agency. He had gone to Navcom and arranged some time off for Kate. At the hospital he had done the same for himself and now he could proudly tell her that they did have two full weeks to do whatever they wanted.

"I know we hadn't really planned a honeymoon but I'd love to take you somewhere, even if it's just for a few days, so I went to the travel agency and got an option on three ten-day trips. After the ten days we come back and pick up James and go to Movie World on the Gold Coast for two more days. You just tell me where you would like to go," he said, showing her the brochures.

Kate was perplexed. He had done all of this in the one week she had gone away and the only thing she had to do was to pick out the destination? Could it get any more luxurious?

"Which destinations do you have in mind for our honeymoon?" she asked excitedly.

Robert gave her the papers and walked towards the couch and sat down, spreading his arms to show he expected her to sit down as well.

"I know you like warm weather and, just like me, you want a little bit of culture," he started to explain. "So I got brochures on the Seychelles, Tahiti and Fiji."

Robert got excited all over again, seeing Kate being so eager to go on a holiday with him after all.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked her. She was still looking at the different pictures but he wanted to know so badly.

"I don't know," she replied. "Which one is your favourite?" she asked him in return.

He pulled her closer to him on the couch and kissed her on her forehead.

"I was wondering the same thing," he teased. "I was the one who picked those three destinations, well, OK the travel agent told me these are the only three available right after our wedding, but I want you to decide," he answered.

Kate put her feet on the couch and leaned against him. "Well, that's not fair," she said. "It's your honeymoon as well. Why don't we both say which one is our least favourite?" she suggested.

Kate looked at the pictures of Fiji which were very appealing. Robert was looking at pictures of a hotel on the Seychelles. She hoped it meant he wasn't in favour of Tahiti. She would love to go to that island one day, but not on her honeymoon. After all these years it still was the island that was attached to Mike and the relationship she broke off.

"My least favourite is," he started, but he stopped and looked at her in pity. "Fiji," he finished.

Kate was surprised but would ask him why in a minute. First she had to give him her least favourite choice.

"Mine would be Tahiti," she stated without any doubt.

"Why?" he almost exclaimed.

Robert wouldn't mind any of the three choices but the accommodations on Tahiti had looked the best. He had never been there before nor the Seychelles, so Tahiti had been a little bit his favourite up until now.

"It's a long story," Kate sighed. Robert didn't mind a long story, he simply wanted to find out why she didn't want to go to Tahiti.

"It has to do with Mike," she started to explain.

Robert didn't understand it and Kate didn't seem to be very forthcoming with her answers.

"Whatever there was between you two has been years ago, hasn't it? Why would that still be a problem?" he wanted to know.

Kate put down her brochure and put her arms around Robert and curled up on the couch.

"We were going there to start off our relationship. The relationship that didn't happen," she explained. She saw the disappointed look so she tried to explain it a bit further.

"I would love to go to Tahiti one day, but on my honeymoon I don't want to think about Mike Flynn and all the things I could have seen with him or done with him etcetera. Can you understand that?" she asked.

The way she explained it all made sense but he was still a bit disappointed about her choice.

"So, which one is your favourite?" he asked her.

Kate looked from one to the other brochure and shrugged.

"On a practical point I would say we should go to Fiji because the distance, but that one is your least favourite. Oh I don't know Robert, I've never been to either of the countries. All I want is to enjoy those extra days with you," she stated.

"Let's go to the Seychelles," she finally decided.

"Really? Are you sure?" Robert asked but Kate started to laugh now.

"Dearest fiancé, half an hour ago I didn't even know I was going to make a trip in the first place. How sure do you want me to be?" she teased him.

Tomorrow he was going to get their itineraries fixed and also the promised trip to Movie World. He had already told James who was really excited and looking forward to it.

"I think I'm done with my to-do-list for the wedding. The only thing I need to do is wait for you at the beach. Do you already know what you're going to wear?" he asked her.

The dress! It was the one subject she wouldn't tell him anything about and it made him extremely curious.

"I'll wear _something_, I promise," Kate laughed. "You just have to wait and see," she added.

He kissed her on the top of her head and dropped the brochures on the floor. All he wanted was some quality time with his soon to be wife. She had put her head on his chest and kept her eyes on one of the brochures.

"I can't imagine myself there yet," she murmured. "Or the fact that you've arranged this for us. Thank you Robert," she continued.

He had woken her up and for the past half hour she had been excited but now it looked like she was almost falling asleep again.

"It's a pleasure," he told her. Kate was worth every cent he had!

"Let's go to bed, sweetie," he suggested when she didn't respond to him anymore. She opened her eyes and lifted her head a bit to nod.

"Hey Robert, did you know we only have fifteen more sleeps and then we're married!"


	22. Commander 9

The wedding day came faster than they thought and Robert couldn't hide his curiosity about Kate's dress any longer. Every time she left the house during the weeks leading up to the wedding he wondered if she was going to come back with a dress or not. He had even peeked in her shopping bags one day but of course, there hadn't been a dress in any of them. She did have all kinds of nice looking lingerie which he hoped she would bring along on their honeymoon.

The night before the wedding Kate and James had gone to stay with Malcolm and Terry. Their wedding wasn't at all a traditional one, but that was one thing they wanted. Robert's mother had been happy Kate wasn't sleeping in their bed that night, but then his mother was a little bit old fashioned. She had arrived a few days before the wedding and had been the mother-in-law from hell for Kate. Every time Kate had said or done something Robert's mother had contradicted her. Luckily he knew the two women could get along fine in any other circumstance so he didn't pay much attention to their moans and pleas to get the other woman to 'shut up'.

Robert had woken up very early and had called Kate to see if she was awake as well, but he had gotten James on the phone telling him Kate wouldn't talk to him. Before he could protest James had hung up on him and any other call didn't get answered at all. He had promised he would pick up Kate and James about half an hour before the ceremony and according to his watch that was in ninety seconds.

Nervously he stood in front of the Roth's front door but before he could ring the bell the door flew open and James, dressed in a nice suit, ran up to him.

"We're getting married today!" the boy exclaimed happily.

Behind him Malcolm and Terry had come out and laughed about the enthusiasm of the boy.

"Mum and Robert will," Malcolm tried to correct him but James didn't want to hear about it. _He_ was going to get married as well.

"I'm going to change my name as well, just like mummy," he explained.

They had discussed the name situation and had come to the conclusion to add Robert's name to James' as well. He would be James Roth Prizeman after the ceremony. Kate would use her married name in any personal circumstance but still use McGregor at work. She had been the one to suggest changing James' name as well so there wouldn't be three different surnames living under one roof. After today Robert would officially adopt James as his son, so he got an instant family. They were including James in the ceremony as well, to give him the feeling that this wasn't something just for the grown-ups.

"You're right James," Terry shushed him before looking over her shoulder.

Robert's heart was skipping a beat, knowing that Kate would walk out any second now. The door opened just a little bit more and there she was! He melted by the sight of Kate in a knee length purple dress. Her hair was half pulled up and half falling down on her shoulders with little purple flowers stuck in her hair.

He was speechless. She came closer and closer and he could smell her perfume by now. When she had walked all the way up to him she stood still and smiled at him.

"Wow," was the first thing that escaped his lips. "You look…" he swallowed and gave her another look from head to toe. "Gosh, you look fabulous!"

Kate smiled and looked at herself. "Thank you. You look good yourself," she returned the compliment.

"And you look great too, buddy," Robert said to James who had come to stand next to Kate.

"Let's get married," Robert said before walking to the car.

He helped Kate get into the car and not much later they were all on their way to the beach. There a few of their closest friends were gathered and ready to witness the ceremony.

Kate waited until everyone was ready for her to walk towards her waiting men, both looking eager for her to come closer. This was the moment she had been waiting for, for so long. She had counted down the days, hours and now the moment was here.

"Are you ready?" Malcolm whispered in her ear. He patted her hand and set the first step down the aisle.

Kate returned a smile and let him guide her towards Robert. Malcolm had been like a father to her so he was the only logical choice to give her away. "I'm more than ready," she whispered back as they closed the distance.

The marriage celebrant waited patiently until Malcolm was seated at the first row of chairs, next to Terry and Eva, Robert's mother, before he looked at the couple in front of him.

"Today we're here to unite this couple," he started. "They've chosen this wonderful place to exchange their vows to one another. A place where the tide comes and goes, where water shows it's force. Both, Robert and Kate, love the sea because, as they told me, they feel at home," he continued. He waited a split second before he said his next words: "If any of you have anything against this union I invite you to speak up now or hold your peace forever more," he said, looking around.

Kate turned around and saw the people she had come to love and care for. Behind Malcolm and Terry, Mike was sitting next to Steve Marshall. Mike was biting his lip but trying to smile when he saw her wandering eyes. For a brief second they locked eyes and he gave her a short nod with his head as if he wanted to say not to worry.

Kate looked at the celebrant again, waiting for him to continue when there was a sound coming from James.

"I don't mind it. I actually like it very much that mummy and Robert are getting married," he stated.

Everyone started laughing and the celebrant smiled at the boy. "I'm glad to hear that James. It's very important you agree when mummy is making such a commitment like today. Maybe your opinion is even the most important one, so, let's continue," he said.

James smiled and nodded before he looked up to his mother. "I really do," he admitted. It earned him a huge smile and a rub on his head before they all looked at the celebrant again to hear what the next step was in this ceremony.

"Kate, Robert, take each other's right hand and repeat after me," the celebrant instructed.

Robert took her hand in his and rubbed the top of it softly with his thumb.

"I'll start with you Robert," the celebrant said, trying to get his attention back. "I Robert Samuel Prizeman," he waited for Robert to repeat the words. "Take you, Katherine McGregor to be my lawfully wedded wife in sickness and health until the day I die."

Robert repeated the words and then it was Kate's turn: "Kate, repeat after me," the celebrant said. "I Katherine McGregor, take you, Robert Samuel Prizeman to be my lawfully wedded husband in sickness and health until the day I die," Kate repeated with a smile on her face.

James had the biggest grin of all of them and knew he had to do something important now. He had the rings in his pocket and got them out before the celebrant could ask for them.

Kate and Robert exchanged the rings and were proclaimed husband and wife, but that wasn't the end of the ceremony. As soon as Robert had kissed his wife they looked at the celebrant again.

"There is something else Kate and Robert would like to say," the celebrant said to the guests. He looked at the couple again, not sure who was going first, but then Kate cleared her throat and started.

"Dear James," she said, taking James' little hand in hers. "You've been the only man in my life for a long time. Now you've got to share that position with Robert, but I promise you that I'll love you and do everything to you to keep you happy and safe. You'll always be in my heart until the day I die."

James wanted to hug his mother but it was Robert's turn and he took James' other hand. "James Daniel Roth. You have a father, one you've never met, but I'm sure he would have loved you as much as we all do. Now I married your mother I'd like to include you in my heart and life as my son. I'll give you my name and promise to love, provide and care for you until the day I die," he pledged.

James looked from one parent to the other and beamed.

"Do you want to say something as well?" the celebrant asked him.

James nodded and looked at Robert. "I love you too dad," he simply stated.

Robert picked him up felt James' arm slid around his neck before he felt another hand. Kate had stepped in closer and had her arms around her men. They each gave James a kiss on his cheek which couldn't make James happier. He pulled them closer together in a loving embrace before looking at the guests. "Now we're all married," he stated happily.

The guests laughed at James' honest outburst and clapped. Together, for the first time as a real family, they walked back down the aisle. This time Kate looked around and saw Mike with tears in his eyes. Behind Mike stood Andy Thorpe. He was just as teary but refused the tissue Lani offered him.

"Congratulations ma'am," Charge said a few minutes later. "I hope your marriage is going to be as wonderful as mine," he said. "Minus the rocky start or the unwelcoming father-in-law," he added as a joke.

Kate kissed him and laughed before she secretly pointed at a very sophisticated looking lady. "I've got no father-in-law but that's Eva, my mother-in-law. She's a wonderful lady with some wonderful thoughts about me and...," she almost whispered.

"And some not so wonderful thoughts we won't mention today," Charge added cheekily.

"Right," Kate nodded.

Charge stepped aside to reveal Nikki Caetano standing behind him.

"You finally got married!" she exclaimed. "You look wonderful and he looks like a natural around James. I'll bet there will be more children for him to father," she teased, knowing Kate wouldn't mind her saying this.

"Nikki!" Kate cried out.

"It's just what everyone is thinking," Nikki added playfully.

"Speak for yourself," Dutchy said.

Kate kissed the blonde officer and took his congratulations.

"Have you two met before?" she asked the two people standing in front of her now. "Dylan Mulholland, this is Nikki Caetano, the old navigator on Hammersley and Nikki, this is Dylan, the current XO on that tub," she introduced them.

"I'm not old," Nikki protested.

"And I don't work on a tub," Dutchy added with a grin. "It's nice to meet you Nikki," he said, shaking hands with the brown haired woman. "Oh Kate, I did want to say you look fantastic. I'm in favour of this new uniform," he joked.

Kate looked at her dress and had to agree that it looked good on her. "Well, I'm dressed in white on any given day, so I wanted to do something different on this day," she shrugged.

"That colour looks really good on you," Nikki agreed.

"I'll buy her more dresses in that particular colour but not today," Robert stepped in into the conversation. He placed his arms possessively around her and kissed her neck.

"Congratulations to you too, Robert," Dutchy nodded.

"Thank you. Let's go to the house. I want to dance with my wife," Robert thanked Dutchy first and then kissed Kate again.

Everyone came along to the house and they partied all day long. Just after dinner Kate and Robert kissed their son goodbye, making him promise to be good to his grandparents while they were away.

All the women gathered together so Kate could throw her bouquet up in the air. When she turned around to see who was the lucky one to have caught it she saw Sally Blake with it, a bit embarrassed by all the stares.

"When we come back I want to know who the lucky man is," Kate joked before she got into the car with Robert.

They were off on their honeymoon to the Seychelles and later on, the short trip to Movie World. Both were a great success. The week alone with just the two of them was a good way to start their married life. They enjoyed the company of the other and after endless hours in bed they went to see a few cultural highlights. Later on they enjoyed seeing James' face lighten up when he could be in a picture with Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters and it almost felt strange to go back to regular life. But the patients in the hospital needed a doctor and Kate had to return to Navcom.


	23. Commander 10

Robert put the morning's dishes in the dishwasher. He and James had just had breakfast together while Kate had a sleep in. What he hadn't known was that after their return at work their workload had tripled in size. Especially Kate's, she had lots of work to catch up on which made her want to sleep in on the weekends. It was clear James didn't want to wait for his mother to wake up so Robert had decided to feed James and then send him out to play in the backyard.

"Can't we do something fun today?" James hopped up and down in the kitchen. "I want to go swimming or no, I want to go to the beach and build a castle. Please Robert, can't we go?" James pleaded.

Robert smiled at his enthusiasm but had to disappoint him.

"Mike is coming to dinner tonight, remember?" he said. "We need to clean the house and do some shopping. You can go and play at the playground for a while if you want to," he offered, but James didn't like that idea much.

"Mum promised we would do something fun today," he sulked.

"You can run up and see if she's awake already," Robert smiled. "But be very quiet. If she's still asleep you should let her…" he couldn't finish his sentence because someone was at the door and rang the bell.

"I'll go," James sprinted away.

"See…" Robert started out but James had already left the room and wouldn't hear him anymore. "…who it is before you open the door," he finished almost in a whisper.

The front door opened and closed, followed by James running back into the kitchen.

"It's Dylan," he said enthusiastically. The blonde man came in and looked at James.

"Buddy, you were going to ask if it was OK for me to come in," he said to him.

"Good morning," Dylan continued, facing Robert. "I hope I'm not intruding," he said.

Robert wondered what the reason was for Dylan's visit. They didn't have something planned together, but he _was_ James' godfather and came around often to see how the little boy was doing.

"We have a busy day ahead," he answered. "Mike Flynn is coming for dinner tonight. You can come as well if you want," he invited.

Dylan looked at bit guilty. "I'm sorry. I should have called first," he apologised, but Robert shook his head and looked at the coffee machine.

"No worries. You want a cup?" he asked.

Dylan nodded and looked at James again who was still jumping up and down.

"Would you like it James, if I came for dinner as well?" he asked.

"Yeah!" James screamed excitedly.

"Sshhh, James. You don't have to scream," Robert scolded him.

James was taken aback and fell silent while he looked down at his feet.

"I want to do something fun today but we have to clean and buy food for tonight," he summed up what his day was going to be like.

"Cheer up. Not all days can be winners," Dylan said wisely.

"Actually," he continued. "I could take James along today and bring him back before dinner. I guess shopping and cleaning goes a lot faster without him," he suggested. "That's actually the reason for my visit. I came along to see if you all wanted to go fishing today," he finished.

James forgot all about the reprimand he got just a minute ago and clung onto Robert and screamed excitedly again.

"James!" Robert warned him. "You can go _if_," he emphasised the last word. "If Mum hasn't planned anything else. I know you need new shoes and if mummy wants to do that today you can't go," he said sternly.

Robert and Dylan started to discuss the situation while James sprinted to his parent's bedroom, again, forgetting he wasn't supposed to wake up Kate. James was so excited and he wanted an answer as soon as possible that he totally ignored Robert's words.

"Mum," he prodded the sleeping form in bed. "Mum, wake up."

Kate turned around and yawned loudly.

"Good morning big boy," she greeted James.

She had slept well but still wasn't ready to get out of bed yet.

"Mum, Dylan is here and I can go fishing with him. I don't want new shoes today, so can I go?" he asked, giving her a hopeful look.

Kate didn't understand the bit about the shoes but she had hoped to do something together with her new family. Kate tried to sit up and wipe the sleep from her eyes but she felt dizzy as soon as she did and quickly laid down again.

"Mum?" she heard a worried little voice say.

"I'm fine James," she said before he would run off and get Robert to look at her. "Do you really want to go with Dylan?" she asked, realising she probably wouldn't feel like doing much herself today.

"Yeah," James nodded. "Because I don't want to clean and buy shoes," he explained.

"You don't mind we're not going to do something together then?" she asked to make sure.

"You can come along. Dylan said you could," James replied excitedly.

"We do need to do other things today sweetie, maybe another time. And," she continued sternly. "If you're going with Dylan today you'll have to clean your room tomorrow."

James smiled. He sat down on the edge of her bed and looked worriedly at her. He had adopted that habit from Robert but she would get it out of James as soon as she could!

"You are sick aren't you, mummy?" he asked with a deep, serious voice.

"Don't you worry about me darling. I'm just tired. Would you do something for me?" she asked him in return. "Don't tell Robert you think I'm sick and say hi to Dylan for me. I hope you'll have fun fishing," she said. "Oh and make sure that you wear your lifejacket and listen to Dylan."

"So I can really go?" James asked, all excited again. He kissed her and left the room promising a lot but Kate couldn't understand half of it.

She crawled back under the blanket and closed her eyes. She could probably count the seconds for Robert to show up and give her a check-up after all.


	24. Commander 11

Robert walked into their bedroom with a tray full of food. It had been a while since he had eaten something so he had put something on it for himself as well. As he had expected she was still asleep, but it was time to start doing something or they would have to cancel the dinner plans with Mike.

"Kate, sweetie," he said while he placed the tray next to the bed and kissed his sleeping wife.

She woke up quite easily and looked around the room. "Have Dylan and James left already?" she asked.

Robert started to chuckle. "Oh yes," he answered. "About an hour and a half ago."

Kate sat up straight, in shock.

"You're joking, right?" she tried to find out if he was serious or not, but he didn't start laughing so he must be.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" she questioned.

Before he answered her he kissed her and then handed her a cup of tea.

"You needed the sleep and in the time that you were asleep I cleaned the kitchen and made a shopping list," he answered.

She dropped her shoulders and wanted to put her cup of tea away before she would spill the hot liquid on her or the bed. "I'm not just a bad mother, I'm a bad wife as well," she complained.

Robert took her by her arms and looked straight in the eye. "Don't ever say that!"

Kate tried to get away from him but he wouldn't let her go.

"Listen to me," he said. "James has forgiven you already. He's a happy kid and he adores his mother. He wants nothing more than the best for you. There is no reason why he would say you're a bad mother so I don't want you to say that ever again." Robert took a deep breath of air and then continued: "And you're not a bad wife either." He pulled her in a warm embrace and whispered in her ear: "You haven't heard me complain yet, have you?"

Kate sighed and didn't know what to say to him. He had not complained yet, that was right, but that didn't take away her bad feeling. They had a busy day ahead and one of _her_ friends was coming over later that day and all she had done so far was sleep and let him clean up.

"You had a rough time at work but there uhm," he stammered. "There could be another explanation to…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because Kate put her finger on his lips.

"Wishful thinking," she laughed.

"Humour me," he kissed her fingers and held onto her hand to give some more. "In those ninety minutes you were still asleep I also went down to the local chemist around the corner and got a pregnancy test. I'd love to do a blood test, but since you detest needles…"

Kate stopped him again and came closer, half sitting on the blanket, twinkles in her eyes. James didn't get his excited looks from his father, Robert thought.

"NO! No blood test. You really think I'm pregnant?" she asked.

Robert could do nothing else but smile. He was glad she liked the idea of having another child.

"I don't know, but you're tired and have been throwing up a few times in the past couple of days," he answered. "Why don't you take the test into the bathroom and follow the instructions," he suggested.

It didn't take long for Kate to come out of the bathroom with the stick in her hands. She crawled back onto the bed and handed it to Robert.

"You hold it," she stated. He noticed how nervous she was so he put the stick on the bedside table and put his back to it.

"I want to hold you," he said instead. They laid down on the blankets, facing each other. She was so beautiful. There were moments he still couldn't believe she had married him. Kate wasn't just a beautiful woman, she was smart and caring as well so he really hoped the test would be positive.

"What would you say if we were going to have another child?" Robert asked to get Kate's nerves settled a bit.

"I don't know," she answered in thought. "I'm scared of going through another pregnancy on my own."

Kate had told him all about her first pregnancy and how she had been on the Hammersley the first three months or how she had to go through the whole experience without her family, or even worse, Jim not being around. Sure, Malcolm and Terry had been there but that relationship had still been very new and all parties were going through a period of mourning as well.

Robert stroked her hair and pulled a strand behind her ear. "You're not going to be stuck on the Hammersley this time and I'm going to be here all the time. As soon as you notice something changing in your body I want to know, I want to hear the heartbeat and feel the first kicks," he wanted to make her feel safe. He would be here for everything. _If_ she was pregnant they would go through the whole process together.

His enthusiasm made her almost want to have a positive outcome of the test. He would be devastated if she wasn't pregnant.

"What will you do if we're not pregnant?" she asked curiously.

He looked at her and simply smiled. "Like we've said before. If it happens it happens and if it doesn't happen we're going to be happy with what we've got," he answered plain and simple.

Kate wanted to look at the alarm clock to see if the time had passed by but Robert stopped her and pushed her back into the pillows and laid on top of her.

"Not yet! Oh, I love you Kate Prizeman," he smiled.

"McGregor," she teased him.

"Prizeman," he whispered.

Kate wanted to say her name again but was stopped by a passionate kiss.

"_Now_ I think it's time," Robert said when she wanted to prolong yet another kiss.

Robert got the test but didn't look at it yet. He nestled himself next to Kate and laid on his back, quickly looking at her.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Kate smiled at him and nodded so he held the test up in the air and looked at it.

Kate was quiet and pulled Robert's hand closer to her face so she could see the result better. She simply couldn't believe what it said but Robert could and was hugging her now.

"You're pregnant! _We're_ pregnant!" he almost cried. "I'm going to be a dad."

Kate looked at the test and saw he was right. According to this test she was about seven to eight weeks pregnant but she still couldn't believe it.

"We do need to get moving," she said, still a bit dazed but he wouldn't let her go.

"Kate, we're going to be parents again! Forget about the cleaning, forget about everything for a moment and just enjoy it," he told her.


	25. Commander 12

It took a lot of effort to get moving after they found out about the pregnancy but the chores had to be done. Both were happy in retrospect that Dylan had come by that morning and had taken James away. The chores they had to do did go a lot faster now even though they were just finished when James and Dylan came back. James couldn't stop talking about all the fish he had caught and Dylan had to keep telling the name of the little island they had gone to, but other than that it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

The men were working on the barbecue when Mike arrived. Kate was preparing some salads in the kitchen and James was somewhere playing on his own in the house. Mike had met Robert only a few times yet so he didn't mind it at all that Dylan was there.

When all the food was ready and the grown-ups had taken position on the large patio Robert called James to come and join them as well. It took forever for the boy to come down but when he walked onto the patio it was clear why it had taken so long; he was fixated on something in his hands.

"What do you have there?" Robert asked when James had arrived.

"It looks like a thermometer," James answered absentmindedly. "It was on mum's night stand. I wanted to see if she was still sick but this thing only says 'seven slash eight weeks'. Does that mean mum is going to be sick for that time?" he asked.

Mike's jaw dropped to the ground, hearing this information.

"Congratulations," he stated.

James gave him a strange look and walked towards him. "Why do you say that uncle Mike?" he wondered.

Mike realised what had happened and gave Kate and Robert an apologetic look. No one said a word for a while, not knowing what to say in this situation. Mike could hit himself for being so quick to say something about it.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed towards Kate who then shrugged and smiled towards Robert.

"Well, now you know. We discovered it only this morning so this is very fresh news for everyone," she said proudly.

"I do hope you can keep it a secret until we announce it to the rest of the world. It's still so early days. A lot can happen," Robert added to Kate's words.

Dylan stood up and walked towards Robert to shake his hand. "Congratulations. I'll keep quiet about it but I do have to confess I'm proud to already know this good news," he smiled.

He then wanted to walk towards Kate but right at that time James walked towards her and stood right in front of her.

"Why are uncle Mike and uncle Dylan congratulating you?" he wondered.

Kate kissed him on his forehead and pulled him closer to her. "Because we're going to have a little baby and because you're going to be a big brother," she explained.

Dylan looked at James to see what his reaction would be but there was only disbelief to see on his face.

"Where is the little baby now?" he wanted to know.

"In my belly, but it's really tiny so you can't see it yet," Kate replied.

"Kate, why don't you take James inside so he can ask you all kinds of questions? I'll entertain our guests and put meat on the barbie so when you two come back there's something to eat," Robert suggested. Kate nodded and took James with her to tell him all about the baby.

"I'm so sorry about that," Mike apologised again, but Robert shook his head and smiled.

"No worries. At least we don't have to come up with excuses why we are so radiantly glowing or why Kate won't drink any wine tonight," he said.

Mike was happy they were taking it so well. He had come here to get to know Robert a bit better but it wasn't going the way he had thought it would go and he did feel a bit guilty about that, whatever they would say.

"I promise no one is going to hear anything from me," Mike promised, not knowing what else to say.

"If you do, Kate will bite your head off for sure," Robert joked.

It lightened the mood considerably because all three men had to laugh at the idea.

"You're absolutely right," Mike agreed. "That's one thing I'd better prevent from happening," he added with a laugh.

The awkward mood had been broken and Mike felt a little bit more at ease.

"So tell us Robert, where did you meet Kate?" he dared to ask.

It made Dylan shake his head and quietly laugh.

"You _have_ been away a long time, haven't you?" he teased him.

Mike felt uncomfortable again and shrugged. "Well, I know you were the doctor on the Towoomba when that ship picked her up from Tovalu," he recalled what he already knew.

Robert nodded and handed his guests a beer. "That's right. The first time I ever got to meet my wife she was wearing a burka, her hair was cut with a machete so it didn't look very nice and to top all that she was exhausted and hungry. That all didn't prevent me from having the patient from hell though. She was constantly contradicting me or telling _me_ what to do," he joked. "I can't say I fell in love with her that moment but I did like the strong, fiery woman she is."

Dylan had heard all the stories before but it was fun to recall them again.

"I remember the day when Kate had to take James to the hospital after his fall. She had called me because she didn't know if she could get to the hospital in time _or_ that she could stay there long, but by the time I arrived at the hospital the two of them just walked out. James all stitched up, with a broad smile on his face and his arm in a sling and Kate constantly looking backwards. She told me she knew the doctor from somewhere but couldn't remember where from," he reminisced.

"Kate told me you two had a date not long after," Mike said to Robert who nodded and smiled.

"We did. We saw each other a few days after the appointment in hospital and I was brave enough to ask her out to dinner. I was surprised with her eagerness to accept but when we finally were together I realised she liked me as much as I liked her and from there we took off on our relationship," Robert replied.

"I saw it all happen," Dylan said with a laugh. "One day I came into Navcom with my CO and Kate was smiling throughout the meeting even though she had to give us bad news and well, reprimand us for whatever we had done. What that was doesn't matter right now," he said, hoping he wouldn't have to tell the men after all.

"My CO didn't agree with the reprimand and left as soon as he could but I wanted to know why she was so happy and when I asked her she just…" he started to laugh, remembering how silly Kate had behaved then.

"It sounded something like this," he said while he started his impersonation of Kate: "Oh Dylan, I think I'm in love, no, I know I'm love."

Dylan had his voice high pitched and moved his arms excitedly but Robert and Mike didn't laugh. Before he could wonder why not, he felt two cold hands sliding around his neck, strangling him and when he turned his head to the right he faced Kate's smiling face.

"I've never sounded that ridiculous," she stated. Everyone started laughing to which Kate pretended to choke him a bit more before she sat down next to Robert, pointing at Dutchy. "Your impersonation is even worse than Spider's" she laughed.

Only Mike started laughing now, remembering the tape of Chefo's bucks party. When he saw the questioning looks on Dylan's and Robert's face he started telling the story, of course a lot juicier just to tease Kate. She was rolling her eyes and raised her finger a few times, telling him he had to watch out but Mike didn't stop for that. Robert listened intently and looked at his wife a few times. They looked so nice and cosy together that Mike couldn't even feel sorry for himself anymore. they looked so happy and it made him happy as well.

Kate leaned against Robert and looked around the group. She was glad they all had a good time, mocking each other and telling fun stories. James listened to half of the stories and was allowed to help the men to put some meat on the barbie but after a while he went inside to read his book or play with his toys. The conversation became a bit more serious and a few discussions about navy life or protocol followed. It was nearly midnight when both Dylan and Mike left with the promise to do this more often.


	26. Commander 13

The months flew past. Kate kept on working until a few weeks before the birth. The first days at home she missed her work and called Mike, who had taken over for her at Navcom for the duration of her maternity leave, to give her status updates. At first he thought it was great how she tried to stay up to date with work, but after a while it became annoying. He, therefore, wasn't sorry when she stopped calling and focussed more on the upcoming event by preparing the nursery, buying all kinds of cute little clothes and looking for the right name.

Robert and Kate had the biggest challenge finding a name that suited with the rest of the family. Robert's mother had come to stay with them a few times. She was excited about the fact she was going to be a grandmother for the first time. She suggested that they should use a Jewish name since that was Robert's background, but he didn't want to automatically use such a name when he wasn't all that religious. One of the gifts Kate and Robert received from his mother was a book with Jewish baby names. Most of them they didn't want to use but there were a few names that did end up on the short list.

That's how Robert was proud to announce that, on November the eighteenth, exactly a year after he asked Kate to become his wife, Leah Teresa Prizeman, a healthy strong baby girl, was born.

In the first week of her life many people came to admire her, count the toes and fingers and of course congratulate the new parents. To Kate it was all a big festival of recognition but to Robert it was all new. James had to get used to not being the only child in the house and getting all the attention.

When Leah was almost two weeks old family life started to get a bit more structured and Kate, Robert and James were finding a new normal with a newborn in the house. James was quietly playing with his trains in one of the corners of the room, Kate had fed Leah and was sitting on the couch while Robert was walking around with his daughter, patting her on her back to make her burp.

"Mum?" James looked up from his train set. "Can we go to the beach today?" he asked, as he left his toys and walked up to the couch.

"Mummy is tired sweetie. I'm going to sleep for a while but maybe Robert will go to the beach with you," she replied.

Kate caressed her son's cheek and saw he didn't like her answer.

"You're always tired now that Leah is here. I don't think I like her very much," he pouted.

"Why don't you ask Robert?" Kate urged him but he didn't want to hear about it.

"Can't we go to the beach _after_ you've slept?" he tried again.

Kate bent forward and kissed him on the top of his head before she shook her head. "Not today, maybe in a few weeks, when Leah is a little bit bigger."

James looked at Robert, who was still walking around with Leah. "I hate her. It'll take ages before she's big," he continued pouting.

Kate knew he didn't mean what he was saying but nevertheless it felt like a stab between her ribs when James said he hated his new sister. All the way through the pregnancy she had made sure that a new baby wouldn't change anything on how she felt about James but now that Leah was born it seemed all a lot harder. Even if she wanted to spend more time with James, she just couldn't.

"James," she said with a thick voice.

James slipped off the couch without looking at her and wanted to keep sulking in the corner of the room but Robert caught him by his arm.

"You go and apologise to your mother," he warned him.

"No!" James yanked his arm free and ran off.

"Robert," Kate said. "Stop!" Tears were running down her face by now.

Robert wanted to say they shouldn't accept James' behaviour but when he saw Kate in such a distress he decided not to go into that discussion right that moment. Instead he sat down next to her and handed her Leah.

"Why don't you two go and rest? I'll talk to James," he said calmly. Kate nodded but looked one more time in James' direction. "He'll come 'round," Robert whispered in her ear before he kissed her on her cheek.

Kate left the room, wishing she could make clear to James she wanted to spend time with him just as much as she wanted to spend it with any of the other members of their family.

James, at the same time was angry. So many people came to visit Leah and no one had come to see him. Leah had gotten lots of presents while she didn't even understand the word presents yet so why would they do that? He had only gotten one present from his gran and gramps but the wooden train set was much more fun if there was someone to play with him and that wasn't allowed because of Leah so after a day playing alone he started to dislike his present as well.

He was kicking against it and throwing the trains away. He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice Robert coming closer.

"James," he softly said. "James, I understand it doesn't seem fair to you," he tried to get his attention. James gave him an angry stare and shrugged.

"When is Leah going back to the hospital?" he grunted.

Robert chuckled and shook his head in surprise. "Back to the hospital?" he asked.

James nodded and wanted to walk away from his new father.

"I think there is another mummy and daddy for her and they should have her," he answered while Robert followed him.

"She's ours," Robert still chuckled and opened the fridge. "Do you want a snack? I see mum made chocolate mousse again and I know it's your favourite," he tried to tempt the boy.

James thought for a second. Chocolate mousse sounded tempting, but if it was to bribe him away from the idea of giving Leah back to the doctors who had given her to them in the first place, he was going to be wrong.

"I want chocolate mousse," he said, coming closer to Robert, but when Robert turned around to get it from the fridge he added: "But I still don't like Leah and she should go back to the hospital."

Robert had thought it somewhat funny when James mentioned the hospital at first but somehow he really believed it was an option, so without a chocolate mousse in his hands he turned around and faced James.

"Sweetie, Leah is your sister and there's no one we can give her to in the first place. She was in mummy's belly just like you were before," he tried to explain it another time. "We don't _want_ to give her away and it hurts mummy and me when you say such things."

It wasn't such a surprise that James didn't take his reply very well and ran off. They all had to get used to the new situation and in time James would as well. Robert closed the door of the fridge and tried to see where James had ran off to, but at that moment someone rang the bell so he walked towards the hallway. There James had already reached the door and opened it to reveal Terry Roth.

"Gran," James said.

Robert could still hear the anger and disappointment in his voice but Terry didn't seem to notice it.

"Hey there big brother," Terry greeted her grandson.

Robert held his breath when she mentioned the word 'brother' but nothing happened.

"Gran are you here to play with me?" James asked hopefully.

Terry smiled and patted the boy on his head. "You would like that now, wouldn't you?" she asked.

He nodded his head eagerly but she had to disappoint him.

"I came by to see if I could do some shopping for you. I'm going to Coles and wondered if you needed anything," by the end of her sentence she looked at her new son-in-law.

"I don't know," Robert answered a bit dazed. He hadn't expected her to come by so she didn't mind he didn't have an answer for her right away.

"Come in. We can look in the cupboards and find out," he invited.

"Can I go shopping with you gran?" James asked. Terry smiled and looked at Robert.

"Ask your dad," she said as she stepped inside.

James didn't run to Robert but started grunting a bit while he stuck to the door a bit like he wanted to run away. He was about to close it when he opened it again.

"It's the postie," he yelled while he ran outside. Terry and Robert looked at the empty spot and laughed.

"You can make him happy with the smallest things," Terry mused. "But what's wrong with him? He seems a bit, well, I don't know," Terry tried to describe the feeling she got.

Robert started walking towards the kitchen and sighed. "He feels left out. He wants to go to the beach, get attention. Simply put, he needs to adjust to the new situation," he answered.

"Ah," Terry nodded. "I don't mind taking him along shopping," she offered.

Robert shrugged and opened a cupboard to see if they needed something. "It's very nice of you to do so, but I think he needs his mother's attention," he sighed, closing the cupboard again.

Terry came closer and put her shopping bags on the counter. "You might be right but he also has to get used to the fact that Kate won't be able to give him all her attention. I really don't mind taking him along and while we're doing the shopping we can have a little talk," she explained.

He wanted to reply when James ran back into the room with the mail, divided into two stacks.

"This is the real mail," he said handing one of the stacks with bills and official looking letters to Robert. "And these are stupid cards we got because of stupid Leah so I'm going to send them back," he continued, keeping those cards close to him.

It was starting to upset Robert that James was so hostile towards his sister but before he could say anything Terry shrieked.

"James Daniel Roth! This is enough. You're going shopping with me and when we come back you're going to apologise to Robert, your mum _and_ to Leah. This is no way to speak about your sister and it's very hurtful to everyone," she said angrily.

"I'm sorry Robert," Terry swallowed. She, too, still had to get used to the fact that Robert was there to reprimand her grandson.

"No worries," he replied, a bit in shock from her outburst. "I think you said that perfectly."

Terry looked at James who was stunned by her outburst but when he finally got his act back together he threw the cards on the floor and ran off.

"No, I should have let you take care of this," Terry corrected him.

"It just shows he's not the only one who has to get used to new situations," Robert joked while he picked up the cards.

"Terry, we don't need much, but I'd appreciate it if you would talk to James," he added. She nodded and gave him a few cards which had been closer to her feet and then picked up the shopping bags and looked for James.

"We'll be back soon," she said after she found James.

Robert looked at the cards and opened all of them. It hurt him that it had become such a fight with James so he really hoped Terry could reach him and have a good talk. Absentmindedly he opened the next envelope to find out it wasn't a card to congratulate them on Leah's birth. It wasn't even addressed to him. As he was putting the letter back into the envelope the subject matter caught his eye.

"Transfer?" he said, totally astonished.

He read the letter a few times and then made a few phone calls but he wondered what Kate was going to say about it.


	27. Commander 14

Terry rang the doorbell and pulled Robert out of the daydream. A happy looking little boy was standing in front of the door with a bag full of groceries. He brought them to the kitchen and started pulling things out. When he was done he came to the couch and stood in front of Robert.

"I'm sorry I wasn't very nice," he said. " Gran and I bought all kinds of stuff so I can make you a cake," he continued.

Robert looked at Terry who shrugged and mouthed: "All his idea."

James came closer and almost whispered in his ear: "Leah is a cute baby. I think I will like her."

It made Robert smile and so he hugged James. "Is this the same boy who walked out earlier today? That boy wouldn't make me a cake and say all these nice words," he teased James a bit. "I love you big boy. You don't have to make us a cake but if you want to you can," he said, quickly realising that by stopping him now he would disappoint him.

"Can we do it together?" James asked.

Robert looked at his watch and frowned. "Mummy is almost going to wake up and I want to talk to her first. Maybe gran will help you," he suggested, looking hopefully at Terry.

"I'm sorry Robert. I do need to go home soon," she apologised.

"Can you stay a little longer? I would really appreciate it," he asked, almost begged her.

She looked at her watch and then nodded. "Sure," she answered.

Robert made a pot of tea and took two cups with him to wake up Kate, but to his surprise she wasn't asleep anymore and was already feeding Leah.

"Did you two sleep at all?" Robert wanted to know. He kissed Kate and then Leah.

"Yes we did," Kate defended herself. "Until someone rang the doorbell," she added.

"Ah, that was Terry and James. They went shopping for us," he explained.

"How's James?" Kate asked. Robert wondered how much of the struggle Kate had heard. He would tell her later on but for now he simply said: "A lot better."

Kate smiled and looked at her gorgeous baby girl. Ten days already and nothing but perfection. Ten little toes, ten little fingers, two beautiful eyes and ears and a bunch of cute little dark hair which had decided to stand up straight and whatever you did it would not lay down.

"I want to dress her in the navy uniform, have you seen it?" she asked.

Robert looked around but didn't answer. "I haven't seen it," he pondered absentmindedly.

"It looked so good on James and after all the trouble it gave me I'm actually grateful that there's another baby to be able to wear it. I did tell you about it didn't I?" she rattled.

Robert grinned, remembering Kate telling him the story about how she ended up with a baby size DPNU. He still couldn't believe she had to clean the heads at Navcom as a punishment, although she had laughed just a bit too much when she had told him that part, so it probably wasn't true. Still, the story itself was kind of cute and to prove the little uniform really was made out of one of her own she had kept the uniform with all the holes in it.

"I don't know if you want to dress up Leah in her navy uniform after I tell you the latest news," he started, sounding serious.

Kate wanted to say something but stopped mid-sentence and looked alarmed. "Why not?" she demanded to know.

Robert got a letter from his pocket and gave it to her.

"I'm sorry I opened it. I was opening cards and wasn't really paying attention," he apologised.

She looked at the envelope and saw it had the RAN logo on it.

"Well it could have been yours," she tried to lighten up his mood a bit. "You think I'm going to be angry with you for opening my mail?" she asked.

They did that all the time so that couldn't be his reason for being so serious. She looked at the envelope but wished Robert would simply tell her what was going on so she dropped it in her lap and gave him a daring stare.

"Come on, what's the problem?" she demanded.

Robert sighed. "There is good and bad news. The good news is that you are going to be the CO of a frigate. The bad news is, is that the frigate they chose is stationed in Sydney," he said in one go.

Kate looked at him in disbelief but when she didn't say anything he pulled the letter out and showed her what he had read earlier.

"Fleet command wants you to take over command of the HMAS Sydney. They want you down in Sydney as soon as your maternity leave is over," he specified.

Kate's jaw dropped and she felt her stomach make a summersault. "They want me to do what?" she almost screamed.

Leah stopped drinking and was about to start crying but Kate quickly put her back on her breast and then looked at Robert.

"Do they know we've got a newborn? Do the CO's offices on frigates come with a crib nowadays? Are they completely crazy?" she started to fire all kinds of questions towards him. He only looked at her, not knowing what to say.

"I don't know honey. I called a mate of mine who is stationed on the Sydney. He told me that they're about to leave on a long rotation next week and when they come back they'll stay in port for something like half a year to get repairs and updates done. If he's right the Sydney won't partake in a mission until Leah is at least a year old," he told her what he had found out.

Leah had stopped drinking and whatever Kate tried she didn't want to continue anymore so she put her down on her lap and started fidgeting with Leah's clothes.

"Why do they do this to me?" she asked with a small voice.

"My life is here. I'd love to become the CO of a frigate but why now I've just become a mother again?" she almost whispered. Robert put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"That's the navy," he replied.

Kate knew he was right even though she didn't like the answer. Years ago she wouldn't have minded but now she had a family and their welfare to keep in mind.

"What about you?" she distanced herself from Robert and shook her head. "I can't go to Sydney when you're here."

Robert had thought about that question but hadn't looked into it yet. He wanted to await her reaction first. He could have looked into job openings for himself but what if he showed interest in a job in Sydney when they decided not to move in the end?

"You can object to the transfer, see what their reaction is or even better, let them explain why they want you there in that particular position," he said.

Kate didn't know what to say to him so she looked at Leah instead. She picked her up again and put her against her shoulder. Leah was still such a small baby that it was hard to imagine her separated from her mother, but that was the life they were living. Navy life meant that you were sent where you were needed, whether you liked it or not and this probably wouldn't be Leah's last move.

"Let's enjoy her and worry about this later," Robert said, pointing at the letter. Kate agreed but Robert could see it distressed Kate a lot more than she was letting on.


	28. Commander 15

A few days later Kate decided to go to Navcom and speak to someone from Fleet Command. She had had a few sleepless nights over the matter and wanted some answers. She had always wanted to work on big ships in order to get to the top and her ultimate goal, Chief of Navy, but now she had a family and her priorities had changed. She couldn't allow herself to be away for long periods of time.

She walked up to her own office, now manned by Mike, and to her surprise he wasn't alone.

"Commodore White," she stammered as she walked inside.

"Kate," Maxine replied. "I think congratulations are in order. How are you doing? How's your little girl?" her old boss asked.

Kate still had to overcome the astonishment of seeing Maxine in her office, well Mike's office at the moment so when she started to speak no sound came out of her mouth.

"Thank you," she finally managed to say with a hoarse voice.

She cleared her throat to get some more sound to her voice and then continued: "She's doing great."

What was Commodore White doing in her office? What was she doing in Cairns? Was she here to see Mike? Was she here for business?

"You're looking good," Maxine complimented her although it kind of went all past her. "It's good to see you up and about again. You probably want to talk to Mike so I'll go up and will see you shortly at Fleet Command," Maxine continued. "I'll come back later Mike, we do need to talk and make a dinner date," she quickly said to him before she left the office.

Mike finally greeted Kate and frowned.

"Fleet Command? What are you up to Mrs Prizeman?" he teased her.

"Oh stop it," she protested. "I'm here for business," she tried to be serious.

"I'm sorry, forgive me _Commander McGregor_," Mike continued his teasing. "But tell me, what are you going to do at Fleet Command? Maxine didn't want to say much about why she's here but she most certainly expected to see you so what is it I don't know?" he asked.

Kate almost automatically walked around the desk and wanted to sit down when she noticed her personal stuff wasn't on the desk. She stopped dead, midstep, causing Mike to bump into her.

"You can sit at that side of the desk if you want to," he whispered in her ear, pushing her towards the comfortable chair she loved so much. She gave him an annoyed stare but sat down nevertheless.

"I want to straighten out something," she answered his question as vague as she could. Mike didn't like it and sighed.

"That's not an answer Kate," he sulked, but she didn't budge and just raised her eyebrows.

Mike didn't say anything, probably hoping she would start talking if he waited long enough but when she didn't change he started smiling and looked at her almost flat tummy.

"How's my goddaughter doing?" he asked proudly. Kate started laughing and shook her head.

"You think I would lie to Maxine?" she asked him a rhetorical question. "She's fine. Terry is looking after her and James is at school," she clarified.

"That's good. So you're off to Fleet Command. Will you come and tell me what's going on when you're ready? I am curious," Mike said with a hopeful look on his face.

Kate stood up and nodded. "I will. I can't say much because I don't know myself yet, but as soon as things are clear I'll let you know," she answered.

Mike stepped aside so she could pass him but then he realised she had come to the office in the first place and he didn't know why.

"Was there anything you wanted to know about what's going on here or are you simply coming by to say hi to me?" he asked.

She shrugged and slowed down her step. "I trust you do know what you're doing," she answered. "So I'm not here to check up on you, if that's what you're implying. I don't know why I came in here actually. Probably just force of habit when I enter this building, like sitting down on that chair," she pointed at the desk.

"You do know how to hurt me Kate," Mike teased her. "I hoped that you were here at least because you wanted to say hello to me, but now I know my place," he pretended to be hurt.

"You're not a very good actor Mike," she said. "Good thing that's not your profession or you probably would be out of work for a long time," she quickly said before she left the office.

Mike was too stunned by her words to make a sensible reply so he stood there as a fish on dry land. Kate smiled at him and blew him a kiss to show him she didn't mean it. With a quick look on her watch she saw she still had about ten minutes before she had her meeting with Fleet Command. The ten million dollar question was what Maxine was doing there but she would soon find out.


	29. Commander 16

Kate walked into the office of Captain Anders, the local representative for the navy personnel department. He was talking to Maxine but stopped as soon as she knocked on the door.

"Commander McGregor," he said as he extended his hand.

"Sir," she acknowledged him. "Ma'am," she looked at Maxine and made a small nod with her head.

"Thank you for coming in today. We know you can't be here long so we'll try to keep it short," Captain Anders started.

Kate nodded and waited.

"Kate, I should apologise first," Maxine started which caused Kate to frown.

"We should have asked you to come in to hear about your transfer instead of sending you your orders in a letter. One that had a bad timing as well," she explained.

Now she understood and nodded. "Thank you ma'am," she said, looking from Maxine to Captain Anders.

"Would you like to sit down?" he suddenly asked.

This conversation wasn't going the way she had thought it would go but it had just started so Kate sat down and looked at her cap which she was holding in her lap.

"You must understand that we can't accept e-mails like the one you've sent," Captain Anders started again. "The words you've used were, let's say at least, unprofessional. We could put you up at court marshall for insubordination, but since we take responsibility for the timing of your orders and the way in which they were delivered we will overlook it this time," he continued.

Kate could very well understand why he wasn't charmed by her e-mail. Her emotions had taken over and in no uncertain terms she had called the writer 'dumb', 'an idiot', and 'unfit to make huge decisions'.

"I'm sorry for that email," she pressed out. It was a little lie because she still stood behind the letter, telling anyone who would read it that it was unheard of to send a new mother away from her children, especially when one was so young and still needed her mother.

"I should have used other words," she acknowledged. That was as far as she would go, Kate thought.

"We're glad you take responsibility for that email Kate," Maxine stated.

She didn't sound angry or upset and it made Kate a bit confused. Maxine was the total opposite from Captain Anders in this conversation. He probably did want to reprimand her for the email while Maxine was trying to take at least part of the blame.

"Captain Anders forwarded the email and I decided to come up here myself to clarify the situation," Maxine started to explain. "Please hear me out. You'll be able to respond or ask questions after I'm done," she said.

Kate nodded and looked at Maxine, not sure what she was going to say or how she was going to make her change her mind about the position, but she had no other choice than to listen.

"It was I who requested you for the position of CO of the HMAS Sydney," Maxine admitted.

Kate's jaw dropped a few centimetres and looked at the other blonde woman with wide eyes.

"What I'm going to tell you now is highly confidential, so I need your assurance that you will not tell anyone about it." Maxine gave her a stern look and locked eyes with her until she answered.

"Of course ma'am," Kate quickly said, feeling a bit uncomfortable by Maxine's strict stare.

"We're in the early stages of a peace mission in the pacific region. There isn't much more to tell you yet because that's how early we are talking about. The HMAS Sydney will lead the mission and I need someone on it I can trust and who knows how to deal with delicate situations. The current CO is a very capable man, but I'm not sure about how well he will be received in said region. I believe we can achieve a lot more with you in that position," she explained.

Kate was astonished by this piece of news. It was flattering that her superiors had this much faith in her and if this had come up a few years ago she would have grabbed the opportunity without even thinking about it. Still, the situation wasn't what it was five years ago and she still couldn't take the position which would automatically mean leaving Leah behind for long periods of time.

"I can see you thinking," Maxine said like she was holding back a chuckle. "You can see the challenge and you would accept it if it wasn't for your family situation," she continued. "What I'm going to say next is something I will deny ever having said if it comes to court. We need you right now, from the beginning of the whole operation so no one can accuse me of putting you there for either sexist reasons or because I wanted to get rid of the current CO, but I am putting you there because I believe a woman, and more specifically, you, can pull off the operation better that a man."

Kate looked at Captain Anders and wondered what he was thinking right now. He didn't blink or say anything and he looked at Maxine, wanting to know if she was going to say more or not.

"I believe in your capabilities and want you to be in the process from the beginning. The first months will be land based. You'll hardly go out to sea because of repairs and updates to be made on the ship. That way you won't have to be away for long and leave your baby girl. That's what you're scared of, isn't it?" Maxine asked.

Kate couldn't believe that it could be this simple. She could have the position she wanted _and_ her family! A little smile appeared on her face and Maxine saw it.

"That's why I'm sorry for the letter I sent. I should have made this clear from the beginning. It was never my plan to take you away from your baby. I'm a mother myself remember?" she emphasised.

Kate nodded and let the smile grow bigger.

"I know we can work well together Kate," Maxine continued. "As soon as you've moved to Sydney we can start detailing the mission and make it into the success I know it's going to be."

_Sydney_. The idea of getting the position after all had momentarily blinded her from another problem.

"Ma'am," she started hesitantly.

Maxine looked at her and frowned when she didn't see the happy face she expected.

"My life is here. I…" Maxine didn't let her finish her sentence and raised her hand to make it even more clear she should stop and listen.

"Every married person in the navy has to make sacrifices. You knew that when you signed up for it. Ryan has moved a lot during his childhood and it hasn't all been bad for him. I know for sure your children will adjust just fine to any move you've got to make to go to the top," Maxine stated.

Kate took a deep breath of air and nodded. That was not the point she wanted to make.

"Ma'am, you're absolutely right, but what I tried to say is that I can't make a move to another city if my husband is still stationed here in Cairns. If there weren't any children to think of we wouldn't mind a temporarily separation but…" again Maxine stopped her.

"What makes you so different from any other navy wife? There are young fathers out at sea, on frigates, away on long missions, separated from wives and children for long periods of time. They manage and so will you. Lieutenant Commander Prizeman can always ask for a transfer himself if that's what he prefers but there's no guarantee he'll get what he wants or get a position in a short period of time," she argued.

Kate sank deep into her chair and felt like she was losing a battle. For a second it had all looked so good, but now she wasn't so sure anymore.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Kate asked, knowing the answer to her own question.

"You've always got a choice Kate," Captain Anders replied.

She hadn't expected _him_ to answer so she gave him a surprised look.

"At Fleet Command we always try to get the right people in the right positions, but it's always up to them to make it work. You're an intelligent woman, who we all think can make it far in this world, but it's your life. What do _you_ want?" he asked her.

The meeting didn't last much longer and with some answers and a lot of new questions Kate left Navcom. She picked up Leah from Terry's place and then went to Jason's house, one of James' friends, to pick up her son.

Kate pushed the stroller inside and greeted Jason's mother.

"Thank you so much for having him here," Kate thanked the other woman. "I do hope he was a good," she added, looking at James and Jason who were drawing pictures at the table.

"Oh he behaved wonderfully. He can come back anytime," Jason's mother replied.

Kate was relieved to hear that. The last thing she needed today was to hear her son had behaved like a caveman.

Finally James seemed to realise she was in the room and ran up to her, showing her what he had been working on. He was so happy to see her that it made her smile.

"Mum!" he yelled when he came closer. "Mum, why aren't you wearing your other uniform, the one with all the spots, like mine?" he asked when he had reached her.

"Oh silly," she chuckled. "I'm not working on the boat now remember? I had to go to Navcom for a short meeting, where we wear these," she said, pointing at her dress whites. "You know that," she continued to kiss him on his head and wanted to see what he had made but he wiped his hair and gave her a horrid look.

"Don't do that," he said in total disgust.

"Do what sweetie?" she wondered.

"Kiss me," he stated.

Kate looked at Jason and wondered who had given James the idea it wasn't right for a mother to kiss her son, but not to make a spectacle of them right there she also rubbed his head.

"All clean now," she joked. "So what do you have here?" she asked, hoping he would tell her.

"It's a painting of a the Hammersley and you're there," he quickly showed her, pointing at a drawn figure that vaguely resembled something like a human being. He didn't give her much time to look because he started folding his artwork and wanted to put it underneath the stroller. He looked in the stroller and lifted the blanket Leah was under.

"She _is_ wearing the uniform. Oh mum, could I please show that to Jason?" James asked enthusiastically.

"He has been telling us all about the navy, haven't you James?" Jason's mother asked the boy laughingly. She came closer to the stroller herself and looked at Leah. "She's gorgeous," she complimented.

Kate smiled and nodded. "She is," she agreed.

"How old is she now?" Jason's mother asked.

Kate wanted to straighten the blanket but then saw the two boys running towards her. James almost jerked the blanket back to show his friend the uniform his sister was wearing.

"Be careful James," Kate chastised her son.

James continued a lot gentler and caressed Leah's cheek.

"She's very tiny isn't she," Jason's mother asked her son.

The boy nodded while he looked at Leah.

"Leah is only three weeks old," Kate told the boy, and answering his mother's earlier question.

"Only three weeks? Wow, and you're back at work already," Jason's mother said, amazed.

Kate shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not back at work yet. I only needed to talk to my boss," Kate corrected the woman.

"And yet they make you wear a uniform," Jason's mother sighed. "But forgive me, I haven't been very sociable. Can I offer you a cup of coffee or tea?" she asked,

Kate shook her head. "No thanks," she replied.

"Something else perhaps?" Jason's mother tried, but Kate shook her head again.

"I'm really tired. I want to go home and relax, put my feet up," Kate explained.

"Of course," Jason's mother said understandingly. "Well, James can come and play here anytime. Just give us a call," she added.

"Come on buddy, say thank you to Jason and his mum and then we're going home," Kate said to James, ushering him to get all his things together.

James did what Kate asked him and walked home with his mother and sister. There he played on the patio until it was time to go and eat. After dinner Kate told James he could go and watch some television which he gladly accepted. When the dishes were put in the dishwasher and they both had a glass of juice in their hands Kate sat down next to Robert on the swing.

"How was your meeting today?" he asked.

Kate looked exhausted but he couldn't tell by the look on her face if the outcome at Fleet Command was good or bad. Maybe she had good news but spending lots of time away from home had been too much for her.

"Maxine White showed up," she said forlornly.

"Really? What's she doing here?" Robert asked.

He knew the Commodore although he had never had much to do with her. He did know Maxine White had played a role in the fact Kate didn't get promoted to Lieutenant Commander as quickly as she could have. Therefore he didn't like her very much.

"Trying to tell Fleet Command you aren't the right person for the job after all?" he added sarcastically.

Kate sighed and leaned into him.

"You really don't like her, don't you?" she asked him. "Actually she's the one who wants me in Sydney in the first place," she added.

Robert tried to look at Kate's face but could only see part of it because of his position. "OK, now I officially hate her," he stated.

"Rob!" Kate cried out. "She came all the way here to apologise and explain the reasoning behind it."

Kate changed her position so she could look at him and see his expressions. He was surprised to say the least and shook his head in disbelief.

"What it all comes down to is that I'm going to get the position if I like it or not. _That's the life you chose when you signed up for the navy," _she mimicked Maxine White. "Bottom line; I've got to move to Sydney after my leave," she summed up.

Robert was perplexed. "_You've_ got to move? What about me? What about your family?" he asked.

Kate didn't mean it like it sounded, that Robert wasn't a consideration in her plans for the future.

"Rob," she started but then started biting her lip.

"Oh come here," he comforted while putting his arms around her.

"They said you could apply for a transfer but nothing is guaranteed. According to Fleet Command a separation, even temporarily, is quite common so we shouldn't complain. I don't want to move away from you or from the kids but…" she said, shrugging and looking at him not knowing what else she could say.

"I looked at that possibility the day after you got your transfer orders. There isn't a position for me available in Sydney," he sighed.

"Great," she sighed as well. "Robert, I don't want to leave. This is our home. I'm happy here. I know I can't stay here forever but why wouldn't they let me stay here at least until Leah was a bit older?" she questioned.

He rubbed her arm and pulled her close to his own body. "I've thought about it in the past couple of days since I almost knew for sure this was going to be their answer. Love, I've become such a happy man since you and James came into my life and to add to that happiness you've become the mother of my child. I don't think I could stand being separated from you for a long period of time, not from you and not from my children. I love my work but not above everything," he stated.

Kate wiped away a few tears from her face and gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?" she asked with a tremble in her voice.

"It means that I'm a doctor first and navy second. There might not be a position for me in a navy hospital in Sydney but there are other hospitals. They're always looking for good doctors like me," he threw in a joke which helped.

Kate started laughing. She kissed him but then gave him a serious look. "You mean to say you would leave the navy?" she asked to be sure.

Robert shrugged but nodded. "Yes, I can be a doctor in or out of the Navy. You're the career woman in this family. You've told me about your dream to become Chief of Navy. I only joined because it was a way to combine two of my loves; the sea and medicine, but if I have to choose between my work and my family I know what I want," he answered.

Kate couldn't believe her ears. He was going to give up his navy career so she could keep hers.

"I love you Robert Prizeman," she uttered before kissing him passionately.

"And I love you Kate Prizeman, Commander McGregor!" he teased her. Kate didn't want to let go of him but after a while she had to since Leah started crying and asking to be fed.

"You are the most amazing guy I know," she said, standing up from the swing.

"I know. That's why you married me. Now go and feed the other amazing woman in my life," he said before she walked inside.

Sydney, June 1, 2044

"And that ladies and gentlemen is how Kate left me behind in Cairns," Mike joked. "She left me alone, but it opened my eyes as well. She taught me not to stick to one place or one goal. It took me a while to figure that one out. I won't bother you with my life stories although my own happiness and my marriage to beautiful Jo is a direct result from that lesson," he added happily.

Mike cleared his throat and smiled at Kate before he continued. "We had worked together for less than a year when Kate did leave me to become the CO of a frigate. The woman, who called herself a 'big ship kinda girl', didn't stay long on the frigate though. After eighteen months as the CO of the HMAS Sydney she got a new desk job. Too bad for me it wasn't in Cairns. The family had moved to Sydney and her new job didn't change that," he reminisced.

"I didn't make the same mistake I made before and kept in touch with them this time. I got to know Robert and of course, Leah," he looked at the beautiful young woman sitting close to her mother. "My goddaughter gave me the perfect excuse to show up at any given time," he joked.

Several people started laughing.

"I guess my speaking time is up," Mike said, looking at his watch as if they had actually given him a time frame. "I hope you'll enjoy the next years as much as you enjoyed the years serving the navy. You deserve the peace and quiet, although…" he paused for a second, "I wonder how much of that you will actually get. You are one busy lady and wherever you are there's always something going on," Mike said, now looking at Kate who rolled her eyes.

"That rubbed off from you Mike," she said as loud as she could so everyone could hear it.

"For everyone who couldn't hear what Kate just said. She said that she wanted to thank me for making her a pirate, but like always she had to beat me at it and become Chief Pirate," he teased her.

A burst of laughter erupted in the hall but Mike waited just as long until it died down before he continued: "For the next speaker I want to call an old mate of mine. We go back a long way and we've always respected each other. He rose up to the rank of Chief Petty Officer and is still proud of it. Kate, I know you have seen him only last Christmas, but we tracked him down for you. Here is..."


	30. Captain 1

Sydney, June 1, 2044

Pete climbed the stage and looked down at Kate. She hadn't changed much. Here and there a few wrinkles and lines, but that was all. He himself had turned grey, but luckily he was in good health and that was all that mattered.

One thing he did do to help himself was to write down important parts. On occasions like this he wanted to be sure he was telling the truth, so he had written down his story. He got the piece of paper out of his pocket and put it down on the stand and looked at it one last time. He had looked at it so many times that he practically knew it by heart. He read the first line and shook his head confidently.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, Kate," he paused and smiled at his good friend.

"I've heard stories tonight I hadn't heard before and others are fantastic to hear again. I met Kate McGregor all the way back in 2007 when she was posted on the Hammersley as my new XO. I've already heard several stories from that time, and the time after I left the Hammersley, but I want to share a story from a later moment," he stated, clearing his throat before continuing. "It was 2025 when I met her again. We ended up chasing…" he paused. This was not what he had planned and he had to be careful not to give away the clue of the story before he had started. "Well, who or what we chased you'll find out. This is my story:"

**Captain McGregor**

A Sydney beach, March 2025

Kate turned a page of the latest book Robert had come home with for her to read. She loved the historical books written by a Dutch writer, taking her back into the seventeenth century with all its artists, aristocracy and of course the sea battles. The book was so good that it made her forget she was at a public beach but she was reminded by that fact as soon as a beach ball landed right on top of her book. "Hey!" she cried out to whoever had done that.

She looked around and saw a little boy running towards her, or more likely the ball which was on the sand next to her. He picked it up and wanted to walk away again without saying anything so she grabbed his arm and made him stop.

"Let go of me," he screamed, trying to free his arm.

"Aren't you going to say sorry?" she demanded.

Before the kid could answer her his father appeared and pulled him away.

"Leave him alone," he yelled at her.

"Excuse me!" Kate exclaimed. "He threw…"

"It was just an accident. I saw it. He didn't mean to throw the ball at you," the father interrupted her.

Kate cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "I believe you. I still think it would be a lot nicer to apologise for the inconvenience, even if he didn't mean it to happen," she replied.

"Don't make such a fuss," the father said again before he turned around and walked away with his son.

Kate exhaled and wiped away the sand that was on her swimsuit and body. If it wasn't because her family loved going to the beach she would have preferred to stay home or go to a more deserted part of the coastline. One more time she looked at the retreating father and son and just praised her own children for being a lot more well behaved than that spoiled brat.

By wiping her body she realised she needed to put some more sunblock on. Her skin had become dry and even a bit red. While getting the sunblock out of her bag she looked at the sea where James was swimming somewhere. He had inherited her fair skin, well, come to think of it Jim did have a fair complexion too, and he needed to put on some sunblock as well.

"Oh my, if that isn't Kate! Kate McGregor," a man in his late forties said.

Kate looked up and saw a broad shouldered man with slightly grey hair looking at her.

"What?" she replied, completely amazed. "Buff! Buffer, is that you?" she asked him. She got up to her feet and hugged him. "What a surprise," she added to her amazement.

Buffer let go of her, turning his attention to a woman with a small child by her side. "Trish, Gracie," he beckoned.

The woman stopped and came back.

"Kate, can I introduce you to my wife and daughter? Trisha, my wife, and Gracie, our pride and joy," he introduced them.

Kate was pleased to see Buffer had gotten himself a family. If there was one man in this world who deserved that, it would be him. "This is Kate McGregor, my old XO," he proudly introduced her to his family.

Kate extended her hand to Trisha and smiled at her. Introductions weren't Kate's favourite moments, it made her feel a bit uncomfortable, but now it had happened so she could let that awkward feeling go.

"Mummy, can I have an ice cream?" Gracie asked, asking for some attention.

Both women laughed at the eagerness but then Trisha nodded.

"Yes sweetie. We were on our way to the ice cream parlour," she answered her daughter before she gave Buffer a questioning look. "Pete?" she added as an unasked question.

"Why don't you take her there. I'll see you there in a little bit, OK?" he said.

Trisha and Gracie left Kate and Buffer standing behind.

"Wow. I never thought I would meet you here," Buffer got back to their previous topic of conversation. "Are you in Sydney for work?" he asked.

Kate pointed at her beach towel and sat down, hoping he would do the same. "Yes," she answered, picking up the bottle of sunblock again. "You don't mind?" she asked him, showing him the bottle.

"No, not at all. Go right ahead," he answered.

"Still in the navy?" he asked her while she smeared lotion on her arms.

"Yes, still am," she answered. "And you?" she asked him in return.

Buffer wasn't surprised to see Kate still being in the navy. He would have been surprised if she had replied with a negative answer. "How far have you climbed the ladder already?" he asked her teasingly.

Although she had changed over the years from being completely career driven to a bit more relaxed and laid back kind of person, he suspected she must be a Commander by now.

"I was promoted to Captain last year," she answered proudly. "And you?" she asked him.

"Chief Petty Officer," he stated. "Currently serving on the HMAS Swinton."

Kate gave him a surprised look but didn't say anything. What was it she was so surprised about?

"I just love patrol boats," he said, thinking it would be the fact that after all those years he was still working on the smaller navy boats.

"I'm more surprised that you haven't pursued any higher position. You would do well as an XO," she finally said.

He started laughing and shook his head. "Oh no, being a buffer is good enough for me. I've got enough responsibility and can still enjoy the…"

He didn't finish his sentence because while he was talking he saw a boy running from the water. "You see that boy? He reminds me of…" he was startled by seeing what he saw.

"You remember the SAS captain, Jim Roth?" he asked but before she could answer he continued: "That kid there… he looks so much like him."

Kate looked at the sea and started smiling. "It's a good thing he looks like him," she said dreamily to which Buffer gave her a shocked glance.

"You know him?" He looked at the boy again who realised they were looking at him. He came running towards them now so Buffer quickly said: "If I remember right Jim Roth died in the explosion, what, fifteen years ago."

Kate nodded. "Fourteen," she corrected him. "Jim and Swain died fourteen years ago."

The boy had reached them and picked up a towel which was next to Kate's.

"I'm getting hungry mum, but can I go back in? Look at the swell. It's superb," he asked, not even noticing Buffer sitting next to her.

"James, I want to introduce you to Pete Tomaszewski, an old friend of mine," Kate said with a smile on her face.

Buffer nodded to the boy who said a simple 'hi' before he turned his attention to Kate again. "Can I mum?"

Buffer was a bit embarrassed that he had to pick out her son of all the people on the beach but she didn't seem to care.

"You can, but don't go too far. Dad is about to come back with something to eat," she replied to the young teenager.

James ran off again but Kate tried to call him back. "James! James, you need to put on some sunblock," she yelled at the boy who didn't seem to realise it.

"Oh well," Kate sighed. "Hopefully he'll be back soon."

"I'm totally confused now," Buffer admitted, looking from the boy to Kate to somewhere where a 'dad' had to walk around. "He looks like Jim, but he can't be if you…" he stammered.

Kate laughed at him and her eyes started to twinkle.

"James _is_ Jim's son. When we last met, at Swain's memorial I was a few weeks pregnant," she said.

"Hence the fact that you knew it was exactly fourteen years ago," Buffer chuckled. "I thought you had broken off your 'relationship' with Jim long before," he said, motioning quotation marks around the word 'relationship'.

Kate shrugged. "It's a long story, but to make it short we met again a few years later and picked up where we had left off. We would have married if Jim hadn't been killed. What we didn't know was that I was pregnant already. James was born eight months after the bombing," she told her story in short.

Buffer took her hand in his and rubbed it gently. "I'm so sorry about that."

Kate put her other hand on top of his' and held onto it tightly. "Don't worry. I've got James to remind me of a great guy and seven years ago I married another great guy with whom I've got a wonderful daughter," she proudly stated.

"Ah there they are," she added, looking at a tall man, dark blonde hair with a blonde haired little girl dancing around him, holding two ice creams.

"A miniature XO," Buffer mumbled.

"Mum, here's your ice cream," Leah said while she handed her a half melted, dripping ice cream cone.

"Thank you darling. I thought you were going to get something to eat like fish and chips," she said, half to her daughter and half to Robert who looked at Buffer, demanding an answer what this man was doing there.

Before she could say anything Kate licked at her cone.

"Robert, this is Pete Tomaszewski. We used to serve on the Hammersley," Kate introduced her husband to her old mate.

He nodded at Buffer but then looked at Kate again. "Where's James? I've got his ice cream," he asked.

"Swimming. He'll be here soon," Kate answered. "Ah! I hope," she added when Robert started dribbling one of his ice creams on her.

"We've met," Buffer said, nodding at Robert. "You operated on my daughter about a month ago," he explained.

Robert frowned but couldn't remember the man. He operated on several people every day and couldn't remember all of them, at least not by heart.

"Well, I'd better be going again," Buffer said. He felt a bit like the fifth wheel on the wagon and his wife and daughter were waiting for him. "It was nice seeing you again Kate. Maybe we'll see each other at work," he added.

Kate smiled at him but when he was turning away she stopped him. "Wait! Pete. Let's meet again somewhere. I uhm, I'll write down my phone number," she said, looking through her bag. "I'd love to catch up with you again and talk a bit longer," she added, scribbling down a few numbers. "Call me, OK?" she pressed, handing him the piece of paper.


	31. Captain 2

The phone rang constantly while Kate parked her car on the driveway of her bayside house. She had already seen it was her boss trying to get in touch with her, but she was already late after a meeting that had taken forever, and it was the weekend.

The ringing stopped and to her surprise her mobile didn't beep to let her know a message had been left behind. She grabbed her bag and cap from the passenger seat before she got out of the car, quickly looking at the house which was completely darkened. Before she could wonder why there was no one at home, her phone rang again.

"McGregor," she answered her phone, annoyed, after she saw it was her boss again.

"Where are you?" he asked.

Surprised by his question she looked around to see if this wasn't a joke and someone was filming her from behind some bushes. "Sorry?" she asked bewildered.

"I thought I asked you to stay behind after the meeting, but you're not in your office anymore," he accused her.

"You did ask me sir," she replied in defence. "You said you needed some signatures and that you would put the files on my desk. When the meeting was over I asked you if it was urgent and you answered that it wasn't," she explained.

It was quiet for a minute but then her boss exhaled loudly. "I'd expected more from you McGregor," he sighed. "I do need your signature ASAP. It's up to you how you do it," he almost barked before he hung up the phone, not giving her a chance to react.

She wanted to explain why she had left but all she could do now was grunge at the phone in her hand. Her weekend hadn't started the way she had expected and now she also had to find out what was going on at home.

She walked inside and soon discovered that no one was there, she expected her children with their babysitter at least. Maybe they were down at the boathouse but it was as dark and quiet there as it was inside the house. On the kitchen bench she finally found a note from Sylvia, the babysitter. She was tired of the fact that both parents didn't stick to promises and that she quit. James and Leah were dropped at their grandmother's house.

Kate rolled her eyes and whirled around, picking up her car keys and purse, running out again. She had to go back into town to pick up her kids. She might as well go past her work and place those missing signatures. She didn't even want to think of where her husband was right now. He should have been home before her, so where he was, was a big mystery.

Two hours later she slumped back inside, followed by James and Leah, the latter very happy with her latest toys she got with her happy meal.

"Daddy," Leah passed her when she saw Robert sitting in his favourite chair.

"Hey darling," he greeted her. "Where have you been?"

Kate threw down her keys demonstratively before she looked at Robert. "Where have _you_ been?" she asked him.

Robert put down his magazine that he was reading and gave a quick kiss to Leah before he looked at her. "At work. It was such a busy day, you wouldn't believe it," he answered totally relaxed, not noticing her foul mood. "Oh, I've made a chicken dish. I'm sorry, but I was so hungry I ate about forty-five minutes ago," he added.

"We had something called a dinner at the golden arches," she replied dryly.

Kate knew how much Robert hated going to McDonalds, but with two whining kids in the back of the car she couldn't give a rats about what he liked or didn't like. She had had a long day at work and was hungry, so before he could start a tirade she lifted her hand up in the air and walked away.

"I'm going to have a shower and get out of my uniform if you don't mind," she said.

The shower did her good but when she walked out of the bathroom, dressed in only a towel, she saw Robert sitting on the edge of their bed. By his expression she couldn't tell if he was angry with her or concerned, but that didn't matter.

"You could have given me a call to let me know you were going to Maccas," he calmly said.

"And hear you lecture me about it, no thank you," she sharply replied.

"Kate," he bit her off. "I'm not here to fight," he added more calmly. "I don't mind it at all. I know we both feed our children sensibly, most of the time, and when I talked to mum she told me you had just left. I should have known you would get something to eat on the way home," he said in defence.

Kate shrugged and put some undies on. "I hope she gave you as much trouble as she gave me," she said, remembering the lecture she had copped earlier.

Eva, Robert's mother, wasn't at all charmed by the fact her grandchildren were dropped on her doorstep.

"Yes she did," Robert answered, reaching out for Kate. "Let's not fight. We both had a long week and I didn't even get a kiss yet," he cheekily added.

Kate sat down next to Robert and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She wanted to put some more clothes on but he stopped her and kissed her hard on her lips. "That's a kiss," he panted when he let go of her.

She laughed and kissed him again. "You're right. That was a kiss. Now, can I put some clothes on?" she asked, getting up and walking to the closet.

"Your friend Pete Tomasomething called when you were getting fat at Maccas," Robert teased her.

He really didn't mind that she had gone there, he probably would have done the same in her situation, but it was fun teasing her. She always had one or two zits after a visit to any fast food restaurant. He could hear her sigh and hold back whatever she wanted to say, which made this game so much more fun, even if it was a little bit dangerous, so soon after her grumpy return at home.

"Well, what did he say?" Kate appeared again, now dressed in a cotton trousers, a bra and a shirt in her hand.

"He…" Robert started, momentarily looking at her beautiful form. "He said he would call you back another time."

Kate saw Robert's hungry look and pulled her shirt over her head extra slowly so he could look a little longer, but, to her surprise, when she pulled her head through the hole he was standing right in front of her.

"Hey beautiful," he said with a deep voice.

It made her laugh which caused her to be a bit off guard and before she knew it he lifted her off her feet and walked with her to the bed.

"Robert!" she exclaimed. "The kids," she warned him.

It didn't make him stop but when he had put her down on the bed and laid half on top of her he smirked.

"They're watching cartoons and I could lock the door," he whispered.

Kate pushed him off her and sat up straight. "No, oh no, you can come back with your great ideas _after_ they've gone to bed," she said. "Besides, I just got dressed," she added.

She had been in such a foul mood after her long day at work, the babysitter quitting, and Eva making a fuss, but she had forgotten all of it by now.

"Let's send them to bed early," she suggested with a smug smile on her face.


	32. Captain 3

Kate had been really quiet when she got out of bed on Monday morning, but when she came out of the bathroom Robert wasn't there anymore. It was his day off and she had hoped he would enjoy a long sleep in, but she must have woken him up.

The good thing was that she could have a quiet breakfast with him before she was off to the base. Since they didn't live _in_ Sydney, but north of the city where it was a lot quieter, she had to leave quite early. She walked quickly into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"Good morning. Have you…" Robert greeted her, but stopped mid-sentence.

"You forgot, didn't you?" he said, looking her up and down.

She looked at her own body and couldn't find a fault in her uniform. There wasn't a smudge or anything.

"What?" she wondered.

"You're wearing your summer uniform!" he replied.

Again she looked at her body and nodded. "Yeah, I'm off to work," she replied almost jokingly.

"Two words," he started slowly. "Winter uniform!"

Shocked, Kate looked down at her attire and then at her watch. She had totally forgotten about the change to the winter uniform. She hadn't even ironed it.

"Why am I forced to wear a winter uniform when I was wearing my bikini on the beach last week?" she muttered as she walked back to the bedroom to get changed.

"Kate," Robert stopped her before she had even left the kitchen. "I made pancakes. You go have some breakfast while I iron your uniform for you," he offered.

She sighed and walked back to him.

"You do know you are a lifesaver," she smiled at him before she kissed him.

"I know," he whispered. "But do I have to remind you that you wore an old one piece bathing suit last week at the beach? I haven't seen you in a bikini for, oh, I don't know how long," he corrected her, tapping on her nose. "Now, hurry up and eat those pancakes," he ushered her towards the kitchen.


	33. Captain 4

With a new load of paperwork, Kate had locked herself in her office. She was glad Robert had seen her mistake because there were a few unlucky ones who didn't have such an attentive husband or wife and they were sent home by Commodore Atkins, her boss.

She didn't like him very much, but she had to admit that he booked many successes. He was good at his job and expected others to be just as good. He was picky and wasn't afraid to point out any mistake that was being made. Half the time Kate didn't agree with him, but sometimes she had to confess he was right about her. His constant criticising of her work kept her on edge and attentive to her duties, for that she was grateful.

The door to her office opened and Commodore Ryan Atkins walked in.

"Good," he said, startling her.

She looked up and wanted to ask what was 'good', but then he pointed at her.

"Tie," he stated.

Kate didn't know what he meant. Sometimes she wished he wouldn't talk in sound bites but in full sentences so she would understand him the first time.

"Sorry sir?" she questioned him.

"I'm glad to see someone taking notice of the fact we wear the winter uniform, but your tie needs some attention," he explained.

Her tie had been caught up in the paperwork a few times so the fact that it wasn't hanging as straight as her boss liked it to be was understandable. Quickly she straightened it and then looked at Atkins again.

"Was there another reason you came in here sir? Or was it mainly to check my clothing?" she dared to ask him. It was one way of keeping herself sane, throwing humour into the conversation.

"I saw you had time to come in and place those signatures I was missing, thank you for that," he started with a compliment.

Kate smiled.

"I wondered if you had time to read the reports from the feds. There is one about a man, Slatan Krovic. They've investigated him and given us a list of his assets. Now they want to know how we can help catching this criminal," he said.

Kate looked through the stack of papers but couldn't remember seeing anything like Commodore Atkins had just described. "I don't think I've had time to read it yet," she answered, still searching.

"If it's on this pile I'll get to it today," she gave up looking and turned her gaze to Atkins.

"I'd appreciate it if you do it ASAP. A sergeant will come in around fourteen hundred hours and I want your view on what we can do about it," he ordered her before he left her office again.

With a sigh Kate went through the stack again and found the file Atkins had been talking about. It was quite extensive and it looked like she would be going through it for the next couple of hours. If it wasn't for all the other files she still had to go through, she wouldn't mind so much, but there was enough work to be done without the interference of the feds.

Before she started on the Krovic file she finished the one she had been working on when Commodore Atkins interrupted, just to make sure it wouldn't get buried and forgotten. Kate had just opened the Krovic folder when there was a knock on the door and one of her colleagues, Annette Trittenheim, walked in with two cups of steaming liquid.

"Coffee break," she announced.

Kate pointed at her mug and shook her head. "I still have coffee and there's no time for a break," she replied.

Annette picked up her mug and looked in it. "This is cold and there are only two gulps left. Come on Kate, you're not a robot," she said, switching the coffee cups. She sat down on the other side of the desk and looked at her until Kate sighed and looked back.

"What are you working on?" Annette asked. Kate exhaled even louder and gave up, closing the folder and taking the cup of coffee in hand.

"The Krovic case," she answered. "I need to read and report my findings to Atkins before two pm today. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cancel our lunch plans," she sighed.

Annette was a good friend and colleague and ever since she started working at the intelligence headquarters they shared as many breaks together, talking about work or family life.

"Ah, you can't do that to me McGregor," Annette protested. "You were going to give me your view on boarding schools."

Kate started laughing and put her cup down as if she was saying her break was over.

"It's very simple," she stated. "Don't do it. Boarding schools aren't everything and wouldn't you want to have Emma close to you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Annette sighed but wouldn't give up that easily. "You're from England. Have you ever gone to boarding school there?" she asked.

"Nope," Kate answered, opening her file again. "Went to the local primary school in town and loved it very much."

Annette didn't leave so Kate looked up from her file and shrugged. "Aren't there any boarding schools in Germany? Look," she sighed. "I wouldn't want to send my kids off to a school and only see them once in a while. That's not why I had kids in the first place." Again she tried to read the next paragraph of the file when Annette coughed to get her attention.

"Kate," she said pleadingly. "You said you would help me. I _know_ you don't favour boarding schools, but I want to know the reasons. Maybe not right now, but when _will_ you have time?" she asked.

Kate knew she had promised her friend and it bothered her that she had to tell her she didn't have time for her today, again. But she couldn't change that right now and making another promise which she couldn't keep wasn't something she wanted to do.

"I'll help you and I'll give you all my arguments but I don't know when. Why don't you try and tell Atkins to lower my workload?" she tried.

Annette started to laugh and sighed, realising it wasn't Kate's fault.

"Maybe we should get together on a weekend or something. You also promised Peter, Emma and I that we could spend the day on your new yacht," Annette tried.

Kate laughed. "I do promise you a lot, don't I?" she joked. "Can I call you sometime this week so we can pick a date?" she asked.

"What is this?" Atkins said, suddenly appearing at the door opening. "Tea party? Knitting group? Mothers in the navy social meeting? You don't get paid to sit around and do nothing," he said sternly.

Kate wanted to answer but he looked at her and more precisely at the file on her desk.

"I hope you're working on that because the meeting has been moved forward to thirteen thirty," he informed her.

Annette stood up and followed Atkins out of the door.

"Commander Trittenheim," Kate called her back, making sure Atkins would hear her using the official titles. "Thank you for the coffee and sorry about lunch," she almost whispered.

"I'll bring you a sandwich around noon. It seems you won't have time to leave this office at all," Annette replied.

"Thank you," Kate smiled gratefully. "I'll make it up to you."


	34. Captain 5

That afternoon Kate walked into Commodore Atkins office, where she was greeted by two other men. They introduced themselves as Sergeant Willis and Sergeant Tumble from the federal police, before they went to work.

"Krovic is a shrewd person. As you have read in the brief we have been trying to locate his precise whereabouts but have been unsuccessful so far," sergeant Willis started.

Kate nodded and remembered reading about previous attempts to capture this criminal. What she had failed to understand from the file was why the navy, and more precisely her department, had been called in for help.

"He knows we're looking for him," Sergeant Tumble added to what his colleague said. "It seems like he had inside information about what we know and the actions we take. Secondly, he has moved from land to sea and that is your territory," he added.

Commodore Atkins gave Kate a hopeful look, hoping she would say something sensible right now, but she shrugged and played the ball right back to the sergeants.

"It's a police matter, not navy. If we stumble upon him we will arrest him and hand him over to you. I don't see what you want us to do about a problem within your department."

Atkins gave her a foul glance but Sergeant Willis nodded his head in shame.

"I know it sounds strange, but we were hoping we could work together on this. Krovic is a crook who needs to be taken into custody and we've run out of options," he said.

"I understand the need to get him off the street, but what do you want us to do about it?" Kate asked.

"Captain McGregor, could I have a word with you? In private?" Commodore Atkins said, motioning at the door.

She stood up and followed him outside.

"What the hell are you doing?" he barked at her as soon as the door was closed.

"Like I said, sir, I agree that this man needs to be taken into custody, but we're not the police," she answered calmly.

Atkins rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "How far did you get into reading the file?" he asked.

It threw Kate a bit off balance because she thought he would tell her not to criticise what they should or shouldn't do as navy. Now she had to admit to not getting all the way through it.

"I didn't have enough time to finish the file sir," she answered, knowing that giving him an argument to the question 'why not' would only aggravate him.

"I think I told you the importance of this matter," he sighed. "But let me tell you about it right now. Krovic has voiced threats against the Australian Prime Minister and other official leaders who will be here next month. That makes it a national, maybe even international security matter, in which it is very much justified to call in the defence force," he told her.

Kate looked at her feet and thought for a second on how to respond to this. If the security matter was so important, then why hadn't it been mentioned in the first ten pages?

"Have you thought of any way how to capture this man? Does it make sense for both of us to go back inside or should I go inside and tell those men that my personnel doesn't know how to follow orders?" he asked her.

She looked up, almost angry, and stated: "I always give my best sir and today will be no different."

Atkins opened the door and let her pass him. Both sergeants were eager to hear what the navy had to offer and Atkins was testing Kate and waiting for her to start suggesting available options.

"OK," she started, clearing her throat and sitting up straighter. "You mentioned he has moved to the sea where he knows you don't have enough resources to catch him. I don't think it will work out if we send out navy ships," she said.

Atkins was the one with the widest eyes after she finished her sentence. "You want to do nothing?" he demanded to know.

"That's not what I meant," Kate tried to explain. "He's too smart and probably will expect our involvement. If any navy boat would shadow him he'll know," she explained.

Both sergeants nodded their heads slowly but Atkins wasn't convinced yet.

"I thought it was crucial to find out what he's doing out at sea. If the feds don't know where he's going, or about his activities, then how can we know what we're dealing with?" she explained further. "I'd suggest infiltration, although that probably will take too much time, so the other only option I can think off is putting some sort of tracking device on his boat," she said, hoping Atkins would be satisfied.

Willis and Tumble gave hopeful looks to one another. It seemed so simple so why hadn't they come up with it themselves? "We should at least try it," one of them said.

Kate was glad that she saved her face, but after the sergeants had left Commodore Atkins reprimanded her for not being ready. She listened to his tirade and promised to do better.

During the following days divers placed tracking devices on several of Krovic's boats, all but one left port. The big question was if he had noticed anything or knew he was being watched now. All they could do now was sit back and wait for that answer.


	35. Captain 6

"Leah, put your life jacket on sweetie," Kate ordered her daughter who was running up and down their private jetty.

"Kate, come on. I want to get out of the inlet before everyone else," Robert urged his wife to hurry up. He was on their boat already and ready to go while she was walking around the jetty with two eskies and still she couldn't help ordering everyone around.

"Well, you could help me," Kate yelled back.

Robert smiled at the sight of his wife, dressed in a sexy top and shorts, making sure she could do just as much as a man could do. He blamed it on the world she worked in. The navy, after all these years, was still a male dominated world, with male standards and male attitudes. He wouldn't want to have Kate any other way, although sometimes it was hard to see her battling through when he knew she should have given up already.

"You do know we're only going to be away for an afternoon, don't you," he teased her when she finally got on board and he took one of the eskies.

"Geez, what did you put in this one?" he asked, realising it was quite heavy.

"Food and drinks," she answered, putting down the other esky.

After all the safety measures they finally left. They were a fair way out at sea when Robert came up to the helm where Kate was teaching James some navigational skills. He probably could get them home safely without any help from his parents, but Kate wanted to be sure her kids would be prepared for anything and had started on some advanced material.

James was an apt student and loved the sea, and of course boats.

"What can you tell me about this situation?" Kate asked her son, but instead of James answering, Robert cleared his throat and said: "I can see a mother and son. If I would come closer I could hear rumbling stomachs so Leah and I have prepared some lunch."

James turned around, totally surprised. Not sure if his mother still wanted an answer and if he could leave his spot.

"We're close to an island. You want to go there?" Kate asked. James didn't know if this question was addressed to him or not, but to make sure he could give her an answer he looked at the radar.

"I can see it. It's only a few clicks away," he said.

Robert saw the proud boy and suddenly got a bright idea. "James, why don't you get us there. You've had the best teacher so we can trust you to get us there safely," he started enthusiastically. "Kate, in the meantime I want you to come down with me. I've got something for you," he continued.

There were no boats nearby and if she was honest she knew James was capable enough, but to let him steer the boat while both adults were out of sight was a bit too much.

"Oh please mum, can I?" James pleaded.

Before she could say anything to him Robert took hold of her shoulders and guided her away from James.

"Of course you can," he answered for her.

Still a bit reluctant Kate descended to the lower deck and saw Leah sitting at the table, waiting for her family members to come and eat.

"Leah, sweetie, could you go into the master bedroom and get the present that is in my bag?" Robert asked her.

Leah's eyes grew wide, thinking she was going to get a present. She waited a few seconds, hoping to hear some additional information but then she ran off.

"If that isn't for her, you're going to be in big trouble," Kate laughed.

"You think so?" Robert asked, although he didn't look worried.

"Oh no! she's in some sort of conspiracy with you, isn't she?" Kate asked worriedly.

Leah came back with a small parcel but she didn't give it to Robert straight away.

"You can give it to your mum," he said with a big grin on his face.

Leah did what she was told and stayed close to Kate to see what was in it.

"Well, come on. Open it!" Robert urged. It was clear he was eager to find out what she thought of the present.

"Leah, do you know what's in it?" Kate asked to stall time.

"No," the girl answered.

"Does James know?" she asked, about to stand up and ask him herself.

"I can ask Leah to help you unwrap," Robert said to which Leah almost dived on the present, liking the idea of opening anything.

Kate was just in time to pull it close to her and out of the hands of her daughter. "I thought it was my present. Why don't you tell me what's in it?" she asked.

Robert sighed and wished he hadn't wrapped it in the first place. "I'll tell you as soon as you've unwrapped it," he tried, but Kate didn't buy it and tried to stand up again to walk away.

"I think I'll unwrap this thing later," she teased.

Leah gave her a sad look. Kate felt almost sad for her so she sat down again and caressed her arm. "You really don't know what's in this, do you?" she tried one more time, but Leah shrugged and looked at the present.

"No mummy, but are you going to unwrap it and show me?" she asked.

Kate looked at Robert who was smirking. "To what do I owe the pleasure of getting a present? My birthday isn't for a couple of weeks," she said, slowly starting to loosen the tape.

"Do I need a reason to buy my beautiful wife presents?" he threw back at her.

Kate had undone all the scotch tape and opened the paper to reveal a beautiful, but simple, bikini. Not knowing what to say she only looked at Robert but Leah got the top part in her hands and held it in front of her mother.

"I like it mummy," she announced.

"OK, I'm _not_ going to wear a bikini!" Kate exclaimed, but Robert didn't want to hear about it.

"Why not?" he wanted to know.

Kate's jaw dropped a few centimetres and her eyes widened before she answered.

"Because," she stretched. "Because I'm way too old for a bikini! Have you seen my body lately?" she asked, momentarily stopping to get some air into her lungs.

"Yes I have," Robert answered cheekily.

"I saw you too mummy, you look pretty," Leah gave her two cents.

"There you have it. We win this argument. It's two against one," Robert stated.

He knew Kate would put up a fight after unwrapping the bikini, but she would come around and give up.

"Hey Leah, didn't mum promise you that you could go swimming?" he asked Leah.

Of course he knew Kate had, because Leah had been talking about it all morning, but he didn't say it to get an answer from her, but to see Kate's reaction. Luckily for him it was exactly the way he had hoped it would be. She slumped and rolled her eyes, knowing she was going to lose round two of this 'battle' as well.

"You're going to tell me you accidently forgot to pack my swimsuit, aren't you?" Kate sighed.

Leah was excited and was almost jumping up and down while Robert nodded. "Actually I unpacked it after you had put it in the bag, but to keep your promise you'll have to wear this," he pointed at the bikini. "Kate, honestly, and without joking about it, I don't think you're too old or not pretty enough. Would you please put it on? For me?" he asked.

Kate sighed one last time, knowing she really _had_ lost this battle.

"You'll pay for this," she threatened Robert. "I'll put it on after lunch, OK?" she said, half to Robert and half to Leah, who was excited.

"Mummy and I are going swimming. Mummy and I are going swimming," she chanted.

James had reached the island and threw out the anchor before he came down for lunch. After lunch Kate put on the bikini and got some wolf whistles from her husband. She was glad they were at a secluded island where no one else could see her because whatever Robert said to her, she didn't feel all that comfortable in it.

For a few hours they had fun exploring the island and swimming in the shallow water before they left the island again. James loved being in control of the boat, but he was ordered to do the dishes first. Instead Leah was up at the helm with Kate, looking at all the instruments and asking millions of questions.

They were so busy talking that Kate didn't see a boat approaching very quickly. Leah was the first to notice it.

"Look Mum, I think they need something from us," she said.

Kate looked at the boat as well but shook her head. "They could radio us if they need to ask us something," she replied.

Leah looked from the radio to the boat which was still coming closer at rapid speed. "Mum, I don't think it's going to stop," she said as matter of fact. "Maybe their radio is broken," she added.

Kate realised Leah was right. With another look at the boat she saw a man at the helm, wearing a bandana around his head. Whoever he was it was clear he didn't come along with good intentions. She needed Leah to go down below, but most of all inform Robert and James.

"Rob!" Kate screamed to him downstairs. "Robert!"

Leah gave her a scared look and if Kate didn't say something to her she would start to cry for sure.

"Leah, go down to your dad," she urged her. Thinking Leah would do what she had ordered her to do she turned around and picked up the radio to call in for help.

The boat, which had come really close by now, started circling them. Kate tried to have a better look and see who was on it and what they wanted, but all she could see was the man at the helm.

"Mayday, mayd…" she didn't get any further because gunshots were fired directly at her. Leah started screaming to which Kate turned around and saw her still at the helm. She draped her body protectively around her daughter and together with her she crawled closer to the controls.

"We need to get to the radio," she whispered.

The boat had come along side and a man boarded their boat. Kate didn't have much time to get help organised but the more she could get out onto the radio the better. With her arm she reached up to get the mouthpiece but the man saw what she tried to do and took a shot at her.

"Mum! There's blood on your arm," Leah whispered in a panic.

Kate was biting her lip to not cry out in pain, but she was more concerned about the safety of her family than about the spot on her arm where she had copped a bullet.

"You. Get down," the man who had entered their boat yelled at them. He had his gun pointed at Leah and made little hand movements to illustrate what he wanted. Leah did what he asked, but Kate couldn't get up fast enough and faced the barrel of the gun.

"Please," she squealed, half in pain and half in fear.

The man pulled her up by her good arm and kept her in front of him as a shield while they went down. Kate saw Robert protecting Leah, but James was nowhere to be seen. She wanted to ask Robert about it but as soon as she opened her mouth the man pushed her a bit forward, causing her to scream out in pain since he kept hold of her injured arm.

"Show me your jewellery," he barked.

Kate thought she had to get whatever was on their boat, but when she wanted to move away from him he pulled her back close to his body. "He can get it for me," he said, pointing his gun at Robert before turning his attention to Leah. "Pretty little thing you've got there," he said with a wink before he looked at Kate again. "Hurry up or you can scrape her brain from the walls," he threatened.

"Don't hurt her, please," Kate begged. She looked at Leah who was sitting down and had made herself small. She wasn't crying or making any sound, but Kate saw she was scared.

"It's going to be OK sweetie," Kate tried to calm her down a bit.

Robert came back with a few pieces of jewellery, but that most definitely wasn't enough for the man holding Kate. "And the rest," he barked but Robert shrugged and looked back at the sleeping quarters where he had picked up a few earrings and a gold ring which he had been hiding from Kate on the boat, intending to give it to her on her birthday.

"There isn't anything else," Robert answered, knowing full well the man wouldn't believe him and that Kate, or Leah, would pay the price if he didn't please the man soon.

"Honestly. I wouldn't trick you now would I? You can have whatever you want, but please don't hurt my family," he begged.

Kate looked around the room and wondered where James was. He must be hiding somewhere and it was crucial this man wouldn't find out there was another person on the boat.

"You want our electronics? We've got a flat screen and a blu-ray player in the bedroom," she suggested.

Robert nodded and moved back to the room to get it.

"The GPS, radar and mobile phones. Get them," the man ordered Leah around. The girl nodded and moved to the helm.

Now Kate was alone with him and without Robert to look after her he became more free with his hand movements around her body. If she could she would fight him, but she was losing a lot of blood and her legs weren't strong enough to hold her standing for much longer.

"You want to lie down?" he asked when he noticed she started to falter. He said in such a disgusting way that she didn't even want to answer and tried to fight even more to keep on standing.

"We will get down as soon as I got everything I want," he breathed in her ear.

Leah came down with a mobile phone and quickly handed it to the man but when she wanted to sit down again he stopped her by holding her arm.

"And the rest?" he barked at her.

"Leave her alone," Kate defended her daughter. It didn't make much difference and Leah pulled herself free anyway and turned around to face the man.

"The GPS and other thing I can't get loose without a screw driver," she stated.

Kate would laugh if she had the strength to do so. Robert came running back to see what was happening as well but Leah didn't seem to see the problem she could cause.

"Then get a screw driver," the man told her.

Leah looked at her dad who thought his daughter had had enough. He walked up to her and stood in front of her. "I'll give you a screwdriver and you can get it yourself if you want," he stated.

The man pulled Kate a bit backwards and walked towards the deck with her. There she saw there was another man on the other boat. As soon as they were in his sight he started screaming.

"Get back! The navy is coming," the man who was still on the other boat screamed.

Kate was scared to be pulled onto the other boat and started wriggling to get free.

"How's that possible?" the man holding her asked his friend. He strengthened his grip on her while he looked at him.

"Did the little bitch switch on the alarm?" he asked.

"I don't know. They were already coming closer before that. We need to get away. Now!" the man on the boat urged.

For a second Kate felt how the man was thinking about taking her with them or leaving her behind. She was glad he chose for the last option and pushed her forwards, making her fall down on the deck.

"Quick, come closer. We've got a few things to take along," the man instructed his friend.

Suddenly Kate was scared he meant to take Leah instead. He was walking towards the table but at the last minute he grabbed the jewellery and small appliances.

"You, bring the TV to my boat," he ordered Robert. Robert did what he was told and handed the brand new TV to the man.

Kate wanted to get up but didn't have the strength to do so. The man who had shot her and kept her close to himself had jumped back on his own boat and, after putting the TV down, he fired a shot in the air.

Robert fell down on the ground but crawled closer towards her. "I'm alright," he let her know.

The boat with the men left at great speed and they were safe again.

"Kate, how are you?" Robert wanted to know. He had already seen she had lost a lot of blood and had become really pale. She had fought against the pain all this time but how was she really? He took her in his arms and tapped at her cheek.

"Kate, Kate, come on, don't give up now," he said.

Kate opened her eyes but now she knew they were safe she let down her defences and was losing consciousness.

"Robert," she slurred, closing her eyes again.

"Stay awake. We need to get you to hospital," Robert said, looking around. Kate wondered what he was looking for but the pain and the dizziness were too much. Everything turned black.


	36. Captain 7

Buffer and his XO of the HMAS Swinton sped in the RHIB over the water towards the yacht from where the epurb came from. They hadn't been far away from where the distress signal originated and they were the only available asset in the vicinity. They were tasked to check it out and help if necessary before continuing their journey to bring new medicine to a frigate which was out on the Tasman Sea.

"X-Ray ninety-eight, this is Charlie ninety-eight. We've gotten in touch with the owner of the yacht. They were under attack by pirates. The pirates have left but one female has a bullet wound. She's the only injured person. She lost a lot of blood so they hope we can help her," the captain, Lieutenant Commander Storms, told his XO.

"Copy that," the XO replied. "We'll be there in three minutes," he added.

Buffer glanced over the water and saw a nice looking yacht coming closer.

"I think they're it, sir," he pointed at the yacht.

The XO, Lieutenant Lauten, picked up a set of binoculars and looked at the direction Buffer had shown him.

"I think you're right Buff. Prepare to board. You check the helm and I'll take the lower deck," Lauten instructed.

When they arrived at the yacht they saw the threat had passed already. A young boy was steering towards them and cut the engine to come down to a grown up male who was attending a wounded woman. A young girl was pressing against a wound on the woman's arm. Momentarily she let go of it when she saw the sailors arrive but the man corrected her.

"Leah, keep the pressure on," he said.

Buffer saw the girl and recognised her although he didn't know where from until he saw the boy again. "Jim," he whispered. No, it wasn't 'Jim', but someone that looked like him, he thought.

And then he saw her on the floor. Kate. She was as pale as a sheet and the girl was pressing a blood stained cloth against her arm.

"Are you the only ones on this boat?" Buffer asked out of formality as soon as he had jumped on board. He already knew the answer and wasn't surprised to hear the man answer positively.

He still had to check the helm and one of his colleagues was checking the lower deck but when he saw that it was safe he came back to Kate and her family.

"What happened?" Lieutenant Lauten asked while Buffer came closer.

"I heard Kate scream and not much later there were gunshots. Before I knew it a man had boarded the boat and…" the man explained.

Buffer kneeled down next to Kate and smiled at Leah. "I'll take over from you, if that's OK," he suggested.

She nodded and showed him what to do while Kate's husband told Lieutenant Lauten his version of what happened. Buffer didn't hear all of it because he was much too focused on Kate and her daughter.

"Your name is Leah, isn't it?" he asked her. "I'm Buffer."

Leah had blood all over her hands but she didn't want to wipe it off just like that. Now the navy had arrived they were safe and the pirates wouldn't come back for sure. Still, her mother was hurt badly and needed to go to hospital.

"Buffer, what kind of a ship do you work on?" she asked.

Buffer chuckled. She would probably have a good reason behind her question but it didn't surprise him at all that she was interested in boats.

"I work on a patrol boat. It will be here shortly," he answered her question.

"So you have medicine on your boat? My mum needs it," Leah continued.

"What does she know about navy boats?" Lauten asked defensively.

Buffer looked at him and started laughing. "This woman here is Captain Kate McGregor. These kids probably know everything about the navy," he answered.

Lauten relaxed and looked at the little girl and the boy. "Who of you was so smart to use the epurb?" he asked.

The boy nodded and pointed at himself. "I did, sir. The pirates didn't know I was on the boat because I was hiding," he explained.

"Very smart of you. How old are you?" he asked him.

"Thirteen," the boy answered. "And my sister is six."

The father of the children sighed. "Can we get my wife onto your ship? She needs medical treatment. She already lost a lot of blood and the bullet is still in her arm, probably pressing against important arteries or nerves," he said.

"Sir, he's a doctor," Buffer added so his boss knew he was serious and knew what he was talking about.

"Can we move her in the RHIB?" Lauten asked the father.

"That's no problem, but can we hurry?" the answer came.


	37. Captain 8

Kate opened her eyes and was almost blinded by the light. She wasn't on the boat anymore and as soon as she moved to see where she did end up at someone came closer picked up her arm from the bed. The surroundings did look familiar and she tried her hardest to find out where she was. It looked very much like the wardroom on the Hammersley, but she hadn't been there for a long time. Could it be she was there?

"Swain?" she said, it wasn't more than a whisper.

"Mike?" she said worriedly, trying to shield her eyes from the light.

"Swain, I don't want him to see me like this," she pleaded.

"She's waking up," a woman said. The woman put her arm back on the bed and checked her other arm. That was when Kate realised it hurt and with that realisation all the memories came back. No Swain, no Hammersley and luckily no Mike to see her like this.

"Robert?" she asked, looking around to see if he was around. "Leah? James?" she stammered, making more sound already.

"Can someone get Dr. Prizeman? Tell him his wife is waking up," Able Seaman Sarah Allard asked one of her junior colleagues.

Sarah had been taking care of Kate Prizeman for an hour in which Dr. Prizeman had talked to their navy cop and of course been with his children. The girl seemed so calm and collected, but everyone was scared the shock would come later. Robert Prizeman wanted to take care of his wife but he was told to be with his children while Sarah took care of Kate.

"My arm hurts," Kate moaned.

Sarah looked at the bandage around her arm but didn't change it. The bleeding had stopped and there was nothing she could do for her right now.

"Mrs Prizeman you've got a bullet in your arm. Your husband will check if he can take it out or not," she informed the woman who had been unconscious ever since she was brought inside the wardroom.

The door opened and Robert walked in. He passed Sarah without even looking at her and went straight to Kate.

"Hey you," he said lovingly. "How are you?" he asked.

Kate wanted to get up but Robert stopped her. "You just tell me while you lay down," he told her.

He was glad she gave up easily today and swallowed before she took a deep breath and said: "My arm hurts."

It sounded mean but the fact that it hurt made him happy, so unknowingly he started smiling.

"That's not funny," Kate muttered.

Robert caressed her face and looked at Sarah for a moment. He wanted her to pay attention as well.

"It means you've got some feeling in your arm. We're worried you wouldn't have feeling left in your arm," he explained. "I want to do a few little tests. They might be a bit uncomfortable," he said before he felt her arm up and down, once in a while squeezing it.

To his surprise Kate didn't react the way he had expected her to. She didn't scream in pain when he pressed the wound.

"Kate, does this hurt?" he asked while he pressed it just a bit harder than necessary.

"No," she answered without realising there was a problem.

"And here?" Robert tried another spot.

"No," Kate answered again.

"Sarah, I think the bullet is blocking the central nerve after all. Can you tell your boss we really should get her into hospital as soon as possible," he instructed her.

She nodded and picked up the phone to call the bridge. She could go there herself, but she didn't want to leave the patient, even if there was a real doctor in the room. It was her wardroom and her responsibility.

Not much later Lieutenant Commander Storms walked in. He looked at Kate McGregor at first, someone he had met occasionally at the base in Sydney. It was strange seeing her here in this state, dressed in shorts and a bikini top, so helpless and vulnerable. He was glad to see she was awake again and responding to what happened around her. Sarah had informed him that they needed to get the bullet out and now he wanted to know how urgent it was.

"Robert," he started, calling the man at his first name after already having done the formal introductions earlier. "I understand the bullet is some sort of a problem," he summarised.

Robert nodded and stood up like lots of doctors do to get some more stature.

"If we have to go back to Sydney we will, but we were on our way to bring medicine to one of our ships out at sea. If we go back they'll lose two days of waiting for us, so I was wondering," he paused before he looked Robert in the eye. "Is it possible for you to take out the bullet here?" he finished, hopeful to get the answer he wanted.

Robert was torn. He had to get the bullet out before they were back in hospital anyway. The blood loss had stopped so that wouldn't be a problem anymore but if they were on their way to Sydney and to a fully functional hospital he would be even happier.

"When would we arrive back in port if we would go and drop off the medicine first?" he asked.

Lieutenant Commander Storms smiled at this news, with this question there was at least a possibility to finish their task before returning. "We would be back in Sydney around tomorrow evening," he estimated.

Robert thought for a second and it seemed he was calculating in his head if that was still a possibility for him. "I know we're not on our way yet, either to the other ship or back to port, but could we wait a little longer. Let me take out the bullet and see what happens. If she starts bleeding again we do need to go back. If she doesn't lose more blood we would be safe to wait on the return to hospital," he answered.

Robert started preparing to operate on his wife while James and Leah were taken care of by Buffer. He had taken them up to the bridge because he knew from experience that children liked to see what was going on there. His own daughter loved to be up on the bridge as much as she could, but James wasn't as impressed as he had thought he would be. Luckily Leah loved to see all the instruments.

"Mum was the CO of a ship like this," James informed him.

Buffer grinned inwardly. So, Kate McGregor had finally taken command of the Hammersley after all, at least that's what he thought.

"The Hammersley?" he asked to be sure.

Leah's head spun around when she heard the name and tugged him at his uniform. "I was almost born on the Hammersley," she stated proudly.

"No you weren't," James corrected her. "Mum was pregnant with me when she was on the Hammersley, not with you. She wasn't even working on the Hammersley when you came along," he explained.

Leah was about to reply to her brother but before the war between the rival siblings would start Buffer got in between them.

"We don't have to start fighting over something like that," he told them sternly.

James sighed. He had saved them all, but no one had mentioned anything about it yet. They only talked about Leah and how she had been so brave and wonderful in helping stop the bleeding on their mother's arm. To make it worse they were on an old patrol boat which was an exact copy of the Hammersley, on which he had been many times. He probably could even steer this tub if they would let him.

"What's the problem?" Buffer asked him. "Don't you like patrol boats?"

James walked up to the captain's chair to then turn his attention to the radar. It was all clear now, but not too long ago his signal had been seen on that machine.

"I don't have to tell you that we saw you on the radar," Buffer came standing next to him. "By the way, that was very clever of you to use the epirb. It scared off the pirates," he added.

James looked at him, proudly. He was the first one to recognise his part in the whole ordeal.

"It was nothing," he shrugged, claiming he didn't care about it. Buffer copied him and turned around.

"Well, I don't think it was nothing. It was smart thinking and it probably saved all your lives. Would you like to do or see something while we're on the Swinton?" he asked him.

Buffer expected to hear some enthusiasm, but there was nothing and all he wanted to do was stay on the bridge. Maybe he had to do it differently and talk about general things.

"Do you already know what you want to do when you're older?" he asked. James shrugged again but Buffer saw he was thinking.

"I want to join the SAS – maybe," he finally said.

"Just like your father," Buffer stated.

Leah had been listening and would take her chance to get back into the conversation and this was a good spot so she pulled Buffers jacket.

"James' real dad was an SAS captain. This time it's for real," she added, hoping James wouldn't correct her again.

"I knew James' dad," Buffer answered the girl.

"Cool," she said like she had known Jim as well.

James' eyes lit up and he came a bit closer towards Buffer. "Did you really?" he asked.

"Why would I lie about that?" Buffer replied.

James shrugged. "I don't know," he said a bit taken back.

"Don't worry. I really met your father. He was a good man. It was a long time ago, but I might even have some pictures. There must be one with him in it. You know what, I'll look them up for you and if I find one of your dad you can have it," Buffer said.

Buffer was glad he had reached this boy and got him talking. For a minute he had looked so left out but now he was slowly opening up.

"If you want to I can tell you a few stories about your father," he offered just before his name was called out over the intercom.

"I've got to go. James, why don't you take your sister back to the senior sailors mess," he instructed the boy.

"Don't you have to escort us?" James replied. Buffer chuckled.

"You could be a good sailor as well. You know the rules very well. Well, you know your way around a patrol boat so I'll let you go on your own this time," he said, already moving towards the stairs. "Are you coming?" he prodded the children to start moving.


	38. Captain 9

That night they were on their way to meet up with the frigate after the successful removal of the bullet from Kate's arm. She was doing fine but was ordered to stay in the wardroom during the night. Of course she protested and wanted to sleep in the cabin with her children but Robert had told her in no uncertain terms that she had no choice. He didn't want to bother the children with the check-ups he had to perform every few hours so she was to stay in the wardroom.

The children were put in a cabin, but it had been extremely difficult to get them to sleep. Buffer passed the cabin after his watch was over. He looked at the closed door and suddenly thought how strange it was to have the children of his former XO right there on the ship. When he had known Kate McGregor he had never seen her as a maternal person, but over the years she had changed and her children were so much like her.

The door to the cabin opened and Robert Prizeman walked out, almost relieved.

"Oh hello," he greeted Buffer when he saw him.

"Everything alright?" Buffer informed.

The relieved look on his face had to come from somewhere. "They're both asleep so I can finally check on Kate again," Robert answered.

"They're wonderful kids and look so much like their parents," Buffer praised him.

He didn't say it to get into his good books. James was the spitting image of Jim and had the same will power as his mother and Leah looked like the younger version of her mother and had inherited the caring side of her father.

"Thank you. They can be a handful, but we love them very much," Robert stated.

He didn't say much more and walked off so Buffer walked to the next cabin where he had his rack. It had been a long day and he wouldn't mind some sleep for a few hours. Inside his cabin he took off his jacket and hung it over the chair at his desk. Just when he was about to take off his pants he heard a scream coming from the next door cabin.

He rushed out to check and saw a bewildered Leah down in the hallway. "Mummy," she sobbed.

"Mummy is shot," she said, totally upset.

Buffer walked up to her and kneeled down to be able to face her. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asked her.

She shook her head and tears were forming in her eyes. "No, she was really shot," she answered.

If it wasn't so serious he would have laughed so he decided to look away. The door to the cabin was wide open so he could see what was going on inside. From the top bunk a blonde haired sleepy face appeared. James was tired but he was about to get out of bed to check on his little sister.

"Why don't you go back to sleep," Buffer suggested. "I'll calm her down a bit, OK?" he added.

James nodded dreamily and put his head down on his pillow and Buffer closed the door before he looked at Leah again.

"I know your mum was really shot but I think it happened again in your dream, didn't it?" he asked her.

The tears were now rapidly falling down and for the first time he saw a little girl standing in front of him and not the great nothing-can-happen-to-me-Leah she had been showing all day.

"Come, let's go get some milk and cookies and then when you've had those we can go by the wardroom and see how mummy is sleeping," he suggested.

The girl followed him and calmed down already. She needed a good cuddle and some reassurance so he picked her up and held her close to him while he walked towards the galley.

"Do you like Tim Tams?" he asked her. If she was like her mother she would try and hide it but she would dive into the package as soon as she had them in sight.

"Come on, we're going to see if there are some Tim Tams left," he said when she didn't respond.

In the galley he put her down on the counter and then opened the fridge.

"Were you dreaming of what happened on your boat earlier today?" he asked her, again trying to get her talking. This time she nodded. It looked like she wanted to say something but she didn't.

"Was it scary?" he asked, hoping she would say something.

"Are you going to drink some milk as well?" Leah diverted the question.

Buffer thought she was scared for sure so he picked up another glass to fill with milk and got his own Tim Tam from the package, hoping she would trust him. When she had almost finished her glass of milk she looked at him, just when he wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. She copied him and put her glass down.

"Mr Buffer," she said. "Did someone ever put a gun against your head?" she asked.

He had lost count on how many times that had happened to him but he wouldn't tell her that so he simply nodded.

"Well Miss Leah, a few times," he answered.

The girl laughed when he called her 'Miss Leah', but then she turned serious again and almost whispered: "I don't like the pirates. They were mean and they shot mummy."

He hugged her and hoped she felt safe now she was on board the Swinton.

"You were very brave today but I guess you're scared too," he tried again. Leah shook her head.

"I'm not scared," she stated defiantly, but he could hear in her voice she was lying.

"Miss Leah there's nothing wrong with being scared. _I am_ scared when someone points a gun at me or shoots one of my friends. Look at me, I'm an old man and you're only six years old. There's nothing wrong with admitting you're scared," he said sternly.

Her eyes started to water again and she was biting away a few sobs so he hugged her again.

"It's OK to cry big girl. It's all over now and you know, it helps when you cry a bit. You don't feel so scared anymore afterwards and so when you dry your tears you can smile again," he explained.

He felt her warm breath against his neck. She was relaxing a bit.

"Mr Buffer," she said seriously. "I'm a bit scared," she finally admitted.

Buffer stroked her back and put some of her blonde curls behind her ear.

"If you want a cuddle from me or from anyone else you just have to say so," he said, looking her in the eye. "Do you want another Tim Tam or should we go and see mummy before you go back to bed?" he asked.

She looked at the package but shook her head. "Can I save the other for tomorrow?" she asked.

"You're a smart girl Miss Leah," he stated. She smiled and jumped off the counter.

"I want to go and see Mum now," she said, leading him towards the wardroom.

As soon as Leah saw that her mother was fast asleep she could finally admit to her own tiredness and was returned to her rack by her father. Buffer stayed behind with Kate for a while until Robert came back. Kate was fast asleep and looked peaceful. He had wanted to catch up with her but not like this, but now he had met her family he wanted to know them all better! James was interested in his stories about Jim Roth, little Miss Leah was simply adorable, only a few months younger than his own daughter, so maybe they could become friends if they had the chance to meet and Robert seemed like a very nice guy as well.

He had been in such a deep thought that he didn't realise that Robert had come back.

"Whatever you said to her it helped," he thanked him. "She's asleep again."

Buffer smiled. "Good. I'll go and get some sleep as well. See you tomorrow," he said before he left the room.


	39. Captain 10

Kate didn't have to stay in hospital, for which she was grateful, but with her right arm in a sling she couldn't go back to work for a week. Commodore Atkins didn't like it one bit but couldn't do much about it. Kate loved spending time with her children and relaxing at home but if she was ready or not she had to go back to work when the weekend was over.

When she was back at work there had to be someone to take care of the children on the days neither of them could be home on time or even worse, were expected to be at work during the evening. That's why Kate had spent her week at home searching for a new babysitter. It wasn't as easy to find someone who could be available on irregular days and hours but finally she had found a girl who seemed perfect.

Kate looked in the mirror and brushed her hair one last time. Tonight Robert was taking her out to dinner while the new babysitter would stay with James and Leah. He had organised this treat for her and she had gladly accepted it. The last time they had gone out together was a long time ago. She wanted to look good for him, but with her arm still out of action it was a lot harder to make herself presentable.

"Oh wow, you look sexy," Robert stated when he came to check on his wife. "You didn't have to do this," he said.

She had a gorgeous dress on which accentuated the exact spots he loved about her body. "Wherever you're going to take me I want to look nice," she replied.

He kissed her on her cheek as he stood behind her and saw her reflection in the mirror. "You always look nice," he said lovingly.

Kate started smiling at his compliment. This was why she loved him so much. "I love you Robert," she confessed.

"Well, I love you too," he replied quickly.

She knew he would say that so she wanted to challenge him a bit.

"Prove it. Scream it to the world," she tested him.

He started laughing and placed his hands on her waist before coming closer to her ear with his face. Scared he was going to scream it she closed her eyes but then he whispered: "I love you."

She opened her eyes again and gave him a strange look. "Why did you whisper it to me?" she asked, not understanding.

"Because you _are_ my world," was his simple reply.

It brought tears to her eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She turned around to face him properly before she threw her one available arm around his neck and kissed him. "You are mine," she whispered.

His arms were around her body and he pulled her closer to kiss her even harder until she started moaning and he let go of her.

"Was that your arm?" he asked caringly.

Kate nodded and looked at her arm in the sling. "Please let me keep this thing at home tonight. It's so much easier to eat with two hands," she pleaded.

"You know my answer," he replied seriously. "I'll help you wherever you need."

Kate sighed and touched her arm.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked her.

She shrugged. It only hurt when she used her arm too much, but she didn't want to tell him that right now or he would never let her use it tonight.

"I'm not going to let you cut my food like I'm a little child," she suddenly stated, realising that with one hand that would be almost impossible. "I'll keep the sling on but I'm going to cut my own food," she added.

Robert laughed at her fiery statement. When he thought about taking her to dinner he had already taken that into account and had picked a place where there was food that needed not much cutting at all.

"You want to know where we're going?" he asked her quietly. She must have realised the same thing and calmed down a bit.

"Well?" she asked him when he didn't say where they were going. He smiled and kissed her on the tip of her nose.

"You remember the Italian restaurant 'La Piazza'? You told me they had the second best Italian food in the country. Well, I booked a table there for us tonight," he told her.

Kate's face lit up all at once. Terry made the best Italian food but the cook at La Piazza came very close.

"I can order some risotto there," she laughed. "Oh Robert I should have known you would keep my current situation in mind" she said before she kissed him again.

"Oh yuk," James cried out. "You do have a lock on your door," he stated in disgust when he saw his parents in a romantic embrace.

Kate turned her head towards the door and received the last kiss on her ear instead of on her lips. Of course James knew there was a lock on their door. They had put it there not long after their move to Sydney. They had a quite 'romantic' evening and suddenly James had been standing next to the bed. Months later they had locked the door and then James had been banging it after he had a nightmare and wanted to be comforted. It had taken them a lot of effort to explain why there was a lock on the door. Now he was getting older and wiser, but she didn't want him to know yet what it was for exactly.

"Why can't I babysit Leah tonight?" James asked, coming closer.

He had wanted to ask this question all day long but every time something had gotten in between and stopped him from asking and now his parents took forever to come down. If they waited even longer the babysitter would be there already. His mum came towards him and rubbed him over his head.

"Maybe when you're a little older," she said. He grunted. This was not the answer he wanted.

"I can understand why Leah needs someone to take care of her, but I'm old enough. I don't need a babysitter," he protested.

Kate sighed and guided James back to the living room. "We've talked about this before James," she said, letting him know there was no room for discussion. "When you're a bit older we'll talk about it again. For now we think you're just a bit too young to stay at home alone, especially with your sister here as well. It's too much responsibility for you," she explained it again, getting a deep sigh from her son.

"It's just not fair," he whined one last time before they all went down to the living room.

Leah didn't have as much problem with getting a new babysitter. She had gotten all her favourite stuff out to show the woman who was coming to stay. Together with James they had eaten early and she was promised she could watch a program on TV, one which she wasn't allowed to watch every week. When the doorbell rang she was quick enough to respond to it.

"I'll open it," she screamed, excitedly.

Not much later she returned with a brown haired young woman in tow. "Look mummy, this is Vicky," Leah announced.

Kate laughed and nodded as a greeting. "Welcome Vicky. Are you ready for it?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

Vicky shrugged with a smile on her face and then looking at Leah. "I don't think there's going to be a problem," she said confidently.

Kate looked at James who had dropped his body on the couch and was casually watching TV.

"James, could you come and introduce yourself?" she said.

He quickly glanced their way before he looked at the screen again. "Hi," he said.

Kate shook her head. She should say something about his behaviour but the last thing she wanted was to leave Vicky with an even angrier James, nor did she want to leave with a fight, so she looked at Vicky again. "Well, that there on the couch is James," she joked.

She walked to the counter in the kitchen and grabbed the piece of paper she had typed up for Vicky.

"Here are all the important rules which they should obey. There is some extra information about James and Leah like bedtimes and their normal rituals. If there's any problem you can give us a call. Our mobile numbers are on there as well," she instructed before handing the paper to Vicky.

"Well, success. We should be home around ten," she added.

James waited until his parents left before he got off the couch and walked to the fridge to get something to drink. He looked at the tall, skinny woman who was responsible for him this evening. He didn't like it but he had to admit she wasn't as ugly as Sylvia, the previous babysitter, had been. Actually, Vicky was good looking. She was probably around eighteen or nineteen years old. She was talking to Leah who was showing her all kinds of girly stuff. It gave him a good chance to look at her from a distance without too much notice.

"Are you going to offer us something as well?" Vicky's clear voice brought him back to reality.

He stood there for a second with a bottle of juice in his hands, not knowing what to do and the worst thing was that Vicky came closer now. He didn't want to look like a fool so he had to do something, fast.

"I'm just getting something to drink," he stammered, looking at the woman who was now standing next to him.

Vicky smiled. Taking care of these kids was going to be easy compared to the previous ones. These kids had a father who was a doctor and a mother who was a leader in the navy or something. She would find out through talking to James and Leah, but the main thing was that it could be easy making money in this household. Still, they didn't know each other yet and James was testing her. Humour always worked much better than yelling at the kid for doing something wrong.

"What do you have on offer?" she asked again, now looking in the fridge to see for herself but James closed the door quickly and stepped away.

"Nothing," he said fiercely.

He wanted to walk away without even something to drink for himself so she stopped him by touching his arm.

"It's alright to get something to drink, I won't stop you, but I think it would be nicer if you offered your sister and me something as well. After that we can sit down and maybe you could show me around the house a bit," she suggested.

James felt a shiver going through his body when she touched him. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice so he backed off and almost ran over Leah.

"Ouch," she screamed when he stood on her toe.

"Well, don't stand there behind me," he yelled at her.

Vicky thought Leah would start crying now but she simply stomped James and yelled back: "You were the one walking backwards and not looking where you were going."

He showed that he wasn't a mean tempered boy and looked at her foot. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said.

"Well, should we all get something to drink and sit down now?" Vicky suggested again. This time James walked back and asked what they all wanted to drink. This really was going to be easy and fun, she thought.

Leah was telling vividly what she had done at school and what she was interested in, but James decided to lay low and observe the two women. Vicky seemed like a nice person and Leah felt at ease around her. After the shooting at the boat she had been a lot quieter and was a bit weary of strange people. Mum and dad had told them about this new babysitter so they knew they could trust her, but still.

He hadn't told anyone at school about what had happened. They were bothering him enough with the fact that he had let it slipped that Robert wasn't his real father. Some older boys had made gross remarks about his mother and although he had tried to walk away from them they wouldn't leave him alone. He needed a way to impress them and make them stop talking about his mother. Maybe if he would shut them up if he could tell he had a girlfriend. He wouldn't mind having Vicky as his girlfriend.

"Do you want to see my room?" Leah asked after she finished her drink and put the glass on the table.

Vicky showed a broad smile on her face and looked at James. "Are you up for the grand tour through your house?" she asked him.

He didn't think it was a cool thing to do but suddenly he got an idea that could work in his advantage. "Sure," he said, getting up and walking towards his own room.

He thought they would follow him but Leah was leading Vicky, and his room wasn't on the top of her list. She guided Vicky passed the bathroom, the guest room, their parents workroom, their bedroom to finally open the door to her own. James left his bedroom to join them. Leah's room was all decorated in pinks and purples and way too girly for his taste. Vicky liked everything she was shown but James was glad she didn't want to play with the doll's house.

"Maybe another time darling. I haven't seen James' room yet," Vicky stated.

James straightened his back and was ready to show her his domain. She followed him and nodded approvingly when she saw his bedroom.

"Nice," she said. "You like cricket?" she asked him, pointing at the Cairns Rover's team poster on his wall.

"They're my favourite team," he answered. "Who's your favourite team?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't care about cricket that much but my dad loves the Sydney Tigers, so I do get to see many matches on the telly," she answered him.

She looked around and saw a little cross medal displayed on a shelf above his desk. "You won that with cricket?" she asked.

James came closer and came standing next to her. "No, that's the Cross of Valour. My dad got it for his bravery," he answered, looking at a picture of an army guy.

Momentarily she was speechless. Had their father done something so brave to receive a medal for it? Who was the guy in the picture? Could that be James' father? He looked like him. Scared she would ask a stupid question she decided not to say anything.

"My dad was killed in a bombing. He dismantled a bomb that could have caused great ecological problems," James explained. He looked at the picture of Jim before he looked at Vicky, who was in shock after hearing the story.

"If he dismantled the bomb then how did he get killed?" she wondered.

James took the medal in his hands and gave it to her so she could give it a better look. "The bomb was attached to nuclear waste. Together with another man my dad detached the waste from the bomb and got it off the boat they were on. They couldn't get themselves into safety in time and were killed when the bomb went off," he explained.

Vicky returned the medal and put her hand on James' shoulder. "You must be very proud of your father," she said solemnly.

He nodded and put the medal back on the shelf before he turned around and looked at her.

Vicky was amazed he looked so at peace with the death of his father. "Were you very young when it happened?" she asked. It could be the only reason she could think of.

"I wasn't even born yet," he answered.

Vicky gained a lot of respect for Kate. Being pregnant and losing your husband would have been devastating.

"You look like your dad," she said, giving the picture another glance.

"Everyone says that. When I grow up I want to be in the SAS as well, just like my dad," James said proudly.

She could still learn a lot in this family. She had no idea what the SAS was. The only thing she knew was that Kate worked in the navy. That's probably where she had met her husband. "Is that a navy group or something?" she guessed.

James shook his head fervently. "No, it's part of the army. If I want to join the SAS I've got to join the army first," he clarified.

James knew right there he had impressed her and he proudly smiled. She was already leaving his bedroom to go back to the living room. Maybe having a babysitter wouldn't be so bad after all. He would make sure she would want to stay with them so the rest of the evening he did exactly what she told him to do.

Vicky was reading a chapter of her study book when Robert and Kate returned from their outing. The night had been very calm and relaxing for her. Both children had behaved very well and were asleep. They thanked her for her effort and paid her before she left, knowing she had the job.


	40. Captain 11

Monday morning came along way too quickly for Kate. A seaman had come to pick her up since she wasn't allowed to drive with one arm. She hadn't been able to figure out if it had been an idea of Commodore Atkins or Robert himself. The first had a great interest in getting her back at work and the latter hadn't given in at all when she had protested against the decision.

One thing that did come in handy with the inability to drive was that she could start working in the back of the car on her way up to the headquarters. By the time she arrived, Kate could cross off one of the files she had to read.

The seaman carried Kate's things down to her office, but from there she had to do everything herself again. She didn't mind that at all because it was kind of irritating to have a shadow following you everywhere you went. Kate hadn't been in her office for more than five minutes when Commodore Atkins passed by and quickly greeted her. She murmured a sarcastic 'hello to you too' and then he returned and walked into her office. At once Kate was alert to what was going on. Had he heard her, not very respectful, greeting?

"The inspectors will be here today for updates," he informed her.

She nodded and sighed silently that it was only something like this why he had returned. "What time?" she asked.

Atkins had already started to leave her office again and without stopping he said: "You'll see us appear. Be ready."

This was a side of her boss she didn't like. He expected her to be ready at any minute of the day and would probably not take into consideration that she had been absent for a week. Being ill was not something he saw as a reason to slack off.

To make sure she would be ready Kate tried to gather all the files together which her subordinates had been working on during her week away. It turned out a lot had happened in one week and by the time Atkins walked in with the two inspectors close behind him she wasn't even halfway done. Scared Atkins would criticise her she closed the folders and tried another tactic.

"You might know I've been absent in the past week and I've been working hard to catch up, but maybe it's quicker if you two talk me through the events of last week," she said, ignoring her boss.

"We know you've been absent. We even know the reason why," Inspector Tumble started sympathetically, looking at her sling.

Kate shrugged, of course this was quite obvious even though it didn't explain what had happened, but maybe Atkins had told them about the incident on the boat. Or would they know about the boat incident and just talk about her arm?

"Your family was attacked by two men. We know about that because, strangely enough, it's linked to this case," Inspector Willis said after seeing her confused look.

Atkins was interested as well to hear how the shooting was related to the Krovic case.

"The boat that attacked you was Krovic's boat. When we analysed the data from the tracker the next day we realised it was that boat which attacked you. We put your statement and the statements of your husband and children next to our knowledge. We know it wasn't Krovic himself who was on the boat. He must have been on the island where they've gone back and forth to," Willis explained.

Kate was listening but half of what he said went passed her. The mention of the accident brought back all the memories and the pain of being shot.

"Are you alright?" Tumble asked her. She shook her head and closed her eyes to get rid of the strange feeling that was creeping over her body.

"Yes," she sighed.

"If it wasn't Krovic, then who were those men and why did they attack Captain McGregor and her family?" Atkins wanted to know, not wanting to loose time, waiting for her to be ready to continue.

"Krovic works together with several men. The description of them hasn't given us a match with people we already know. We do know that the island you visited earlier is the one that had a drug lab on it," Tumble answered.

"That still doesn't answer my question why they attacked in the first place," Atkins said impatiently. "If they're Krovic's men they were pretty reckless to attack a boat." He looked at the inspector and demanded an answer right away.

Tumble looked at his colleague and sighed before he answered the question. "Of course we don't know for sure why they attacked, but we believe that they wanted to inspect who had been on their island. They didn't stay long on Captain McGregor's boat and although they shot her, they didn't do much else," he told them.

"They left as soon as they realised the navy was on their way," Willis added.

"Was?" Kate asked as if she hadn't heard the conversation between the men. "You said there _was_ a drug lab on the island. Has something happened since then?" she asked, realising the inspector had been talking in the past tense.

"The cops went looking at the island a day after the incident. They thought that the island could give them clues to who had attacked you. They found a drug lab and dismantled it," Tumble explained.

All she hoped now was that this police interference wouldn't stop the criminals. As soon as they could catch Krovic they could find those two thugs, she wasn't scared of that, but they might put two and two together and think they were under observation. Especially since the navy showed up so quickly.

"Are they still using the boat?" she asked.

If they still did, it would mean they hadn't found the tracker.

"They're still using the boat. The only strange thing is, is that it never goes back to port anymore. We believe Krovic is on it right now and his henchmen are bringing him supplies out at sea. It might be time to get some more navy involvement and shadow the boat. We want to know what's happening out there at sea," Willis said, now looking at Atkins.

He cleared his throat and nodded. "The HMAS Swinton. It's their usual area. It makes sense for them to be there. McGregor?" Atkins asked her in his usual sound byte style.

Kate didn't see any harm in that but looked at the file before she answered it. It would make sense so after scanning a few pages she looked up and nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. You want me to inform the captain of the Swinton?" she asked.

After a long day of organising the mission for the Swinton Kate was driven back home, very tired but satisfied. She was glad she had this job and that she was part of a great team. Everyone, well maybe with the exception of Commodore Atkins, had helped her a lot. With them around her she would gain strength and get back to doing everything herself again.


	41. Captain 12

All during the following week the HMAS Swinton shadowed Krovic's boat, but it didn't produce much more new information. Commodore Atkins became more and more agitated with the situation. He made it personal and hated to face the inspectors and tell that the navy couldn't be more helpful. One way for him to compensate was to keep his subordinates working almost day and night.

Kate was analysing data she had received from the Swinton when her friend Annette Trittenheim came walking in with a sandwich and a bottle of juice.

"Lunch break," she announced. Kate looked up from her work and smiled.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, closing the file on her computer.

"How's your arm doing?" Annette asked.

Everyone at the headquarters knew about the incident, but no one even dared to ask 'one-armed-McGregor' how she was feeling, scared their heads were going to be bitten off. Annette wasn't so scared and gave her a stern glance when Kate sighed and growled silently. "Bugging you?" Annette pressed. "I still think Atkins is working you too hard," she added angrily.

Kate shook her head. "No, he's not. Not harder than anyone else," she gave a nuance to her own answer. "Don't worry about me," she added, almost diving into her sandwich to not be able to answer more questions.

Annette laughed at the image in front of her. Kate hadn't answered her question at all but she would get it eventually.

"How are the kids doing?" she changed the subject to which Kate shrugged.

"Does Leah still have nightmares?" Annette asked.

Now Kate put her sandwich down and looked sad. "I've heard her cry a few times, but every time I ask her about it she denies it. It seems she doesn't want to talk to me about it. That worries me more," she answered.

Annette could understand that. There was nothing more frustrating than seeing your child battle on her own.

"Is there anyone she can talk to?" she informed.

"Yesterday she finally broke and said she wanted to talk to 'Mr Buffer'," Kate chuckled.

Annette didn't understand what was so funny about it or who this Mr Buffer was.

"Pete Tomaszewski is the buffer on the Swinton. We know each other from our time together on the Hammersley. Leah told me Buffer had talked to her on the Swinton so we called them and they talked for a while. She calls him 'Mr Buffer' and he calls her 'Miss Leah'. It's really cute to see her, but I'm happy she is opening up a bit," Kate explained.

They talked about Leah a bit more and had just started on James when the phone rang. Annette looked at Kate while she answered it. Her face started to turn grey and then red.

"He did what?" Kate said just a bit louder than she probably wanted to do.

"Well, yes of course. I too believe we should talk, but I can't come right now," Kate said, rubbing her forehead before she stroked her hair.

"Have you tried the hospital?" she asked the person on the other side of the line.

Annette didn't understand it anymore. Who were they talking about? About whom was the conversation? Up until a second ago she thought it was work related, but this also could be personal. Was there something wrong with one of her children? Or Robert? She moved to the edge of her seat so she could either give comfort or stop her from doing something stupid.

"Call me back if you can't reach my husband. I'll see what I can do to get out early," Kate told the person on the phone.

By now Annette knew it wasn't work related but about one of the children, so when Kate hung up the phone she physically moved a bit closer and opened her eyes as wide as she could.

"Problems?" she asked.

Kate took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She still couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"James," she sighed. "That was the principal. The _principal_ for goodness sake!" she exclaimed.

She opened her eyes again and saw the questioning look on Annette's face. "Did I tell you that we have a new babysitter?" she asked, needing to check that piece of information before she could tell what was going on.

"I think you did," Annette replied a bit doubtful.

"Well, James was bragging about how he had…" she stopped and sighed again. It was so not like James to do or say such a thing that it was almost embarrassing to confess to it now.

"He told some kids at school that he had sex with her," she said.

Annette frowned. It was typical for teenagers to brag and tell little lies, but that didn't necessarily mean you were in trouble. "Is that why he's in trouble?" she asked. OK, it wasn't a very nice lie but a teacher could have taken the kid apart and told him to never ever say something like that in public again. Calling the parents and demanding they pick up James was a bit harsh.

"What I understood from the principal is that he was quite graphic with the other boys and when taken apart he didn't deny the story," Kate answered before she put her hand in front of her eyes. "Please tell me my son isn't having sex yet. He's only thirteen for crying out loud!"

"I wouldn't be so concerned about his age but more that if this story is true you've got to deal with a much bigger problem," Annette said, not realising this was not the answer Kate wanted to hear.

"You're supposed to tell me James isn't doing stupid things like that! He can't be…" Kate yelled at her.

"Alright. Alright, sorry, I didn't mean to… What do you want to do now?" Annette asked.

Kate fell back in her chair and sighed. All she wanted was to go to the high school and pick up James, to have a good conversation with him. This was not like him, although she could find a few good reasons why he would act this way. Actually she just wanted to hear that it wasn't true and that he was still her little boy but of course Commodore Atkins wasn't at all impressed with her plea to go home early. Well, she could as soon as her work was finished, so that's what she did and an hour earlier than usual she was brought back home by the young seaman.

At home she found Leah and Vicky colouring at the kitchen table. James wasn't anywhere to be found and neither was Robert. When they didn't return home before dinner Kate called Robert who told her not to worry. He was talking to James and would come home when they were ready.

Vicky left and Kate spent time with Leah, but she kept thinking about her son and why he wasn't home yet. Even when it was time for Leah to go to sleep they weren't back, but when she called Robert again he told her, again, not to worry. Well, she did. James was her son and she wanted to know what was going on!

Finally, to get her mind off worrying, she took a book and went to bed to read. When she heard Robert entering the room she put the book away and gave him a concerned look.

"He's alright," was the first thing he said.

It wasn't an answer at all. She still didn't know what was going on so she sat up straighter and pierced her eyes deeper into his body.

"He's going through a rough time," Robert said putting his hands on both sides of her shoulders before kissing her on her lips.

Kate was getting angry by the lack of response and pushed him away.

"You stayed out for the past couple of hours and the only thing you can say is that he's fine and going through a rough time? Well, _I'm_ going through a rough time. I want to know what's going through my son's head. Why is he acting like a moron?" she fired at him.

Robert stayed calm and came a bit closer to Kate, who was trying to get away from him but she couldn't get much further. She had reached the end of the bed and was literally against the wall.

"James didn't have sex with Vicky. It took me awhile to get that out of him and we talked about a lot of other things. That's why it took so long," he told her.

Robert wanted to set Kate at ease but so far it wasn't working. She sighed and huffed and puffed and without saying it she demanded more of an explanation.

"Come on Kate, you didn't believe he had really done that?" he said.

She shrugged and he could see she agreed with him but she wasn't giving up her defensive attitude.

"He needed someone to talk to him," he added.

"I'm his mother!" she exclaimed.

Robert cupped her face with his hand and nodded. "I'm his father," he calmly stated.

"You don't understand. I am his mother," she emphasised.

Robert gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?" he asked. "You're saying that you're more of a parent to him because there is a biological tie?" he asked. "Because I thought we agreed we dealt with problems together," he said defensively.

Kate bit her lip in anger and tried to move to the other side of the bed now she couldn't go any other way. "Yes _together!_" she yelled at him. "Not alone and not excluding me!"

Robert was momentarily stuck. He had never meant to exclude Kate nor had he thought she would feel that way, but he was clearly wrong.

"I'm sorry," he yelled back. "I asked him what he wanted to do. When I got to the school he was quiet and in a daze. He was trying to deal with it all on his own and I wanted to let him feel at ease so he would tell us. I suggested talking to the both of us but he didn't want to and I thought it was going to be more important for him to talk than to talk to a certain person, you understand?" he asked.

Kate swung her legs over the side of the bed and turned her body towards him. They were each on another side of the bed and this fight wasn't helping at all. She still didn't know what was wrong with James.

"Why didn't he want to talk to me? Did you ask him?" she wondered.

He nodded and tried to produce a smile. "Of course I asked him, but he's a boy and sometimes he needs to talk to a man. There will be a day when Leah needs to talk to her mother and she'll turn to you instead of me. It won't make me less of a parent if that's what you're scared of," he stood up and walked around the bed to sit down next to her.

He waited a few moments before he continued and caressed her back.

"James," he started. "He has trouble fitting in at school. There are a few older kids who terrorise the younger kids. A while ago he let it slip Leah is only his half-sister and since then they bother him, trying to trigger him in doing something stupid or say something. He tried our advice to ignore those kind of people and focus on the important matters, but those kids are persistent," he explained.

Kate listened and wondered if there was more to come. She didn't want to stop him so she waited. He caressed her and pulled her closer to him before he continued.

"When we fired Sylvia he told them it was his doing. He had made her life a misery and she left. _We_ know it isn't true, but he wants to belong to a group and the only way he thinks that's going to work is to impress them. A week long our kids didn't have a babysitter, because you were at home. He didn't tell them _that_, so when we brought in Vicky and they found out he told them she was only Leah's sitter," Robert continued with a chuckle.

"How did they find out?" Kate asked.

She had calmed down but wanted to know everything.

"Vicky is the neighbour to one of those kids, I think," he answered. It wasn't really important on how they had found out, so he continued: "They bothered him with the fact he had a babysitter again so he told them they liked each other. Over the week they asked him if he had already shagged her and today he finally gave in and said he did. Right when he did the principal walked by and overheard what he said. The rest you know, I think."

Kate was stunned. This was not something she had ever expected from one of her children.

"So he wants to fit in with kids who he doesn't really like?" she tried to summarise.

Robert nodded and sighed. "The fact that he's a smart kid doesn't help him," he said, which put a frown on Kate's face.

"He has a nickname at school. They call him 'Prince Perfect' because he always has his homework done and studies hard and gets good grades," he explained. "We won't tell them at school that it's not such a strange thing and that he really _is_ a prince, since you're his mother and you're Princess Perfect," he added with a chuckle. Kate started laughing as well.

"The poor kid," she sighed.

Robert was almost done with telling her what he had learned today. "I told James he has to tell Vicky what happened. He has to tell her himself, preferably before anyone else does, but he got very aggressive when I suggested that," he continued more seriously. "It turns out he's in love with her and he's scared that she won't want to be here anymore if he tells her. I told him he can decide if he tells her when we're in the same room or when we're at home minding our own business, but he _has_ to tell her," he stated.

Kate agreed but there was a new problem. As soon as they returned home Vicky would leave. Neither of them was there long enough to have a real good conversation with Vicky. She was about to say something when Robert kissed her on her forehead.

"I'll take tomorrow afternoon off. I don't know how she's going to react so if she leaves us at least one of us is at home. Could you arrange it at work so you can be there the next day? Just in case?" he asked her. She nodded, not knowing if it was ever going to work, but she would try.

She put her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"James is in love," she whispered. "I don't want him to grow up. He's my little boy. If he's growing up it means I'm getting old," she said against his chest.

Robert kissed her on her head and stood up from the bed. "I'm going to take a shower. I think we should lock our door and prove to each other how young we still are," he teased her. She felt a twitter going through her stomach and she smiled.

"Sometimes you've got really great ideas," she laughed.


	42. Captain 13

Buffer walked up onto the bridge. They had been crash sailed to find out what was going on out at sea. Slatan Krovic had been out at sea for almost two weeks now and the police had tried to figure out how he was being supplied. According to observations he never stayed in one place for long, but the boat, for example, needed to be refuelled every once in a while. How did he do that? So, it was up to the Swinton to go and take a look.

For once in his life Buffer really hated to be crash sailed because his little girl was going to have her birthday tomorrow and he wouldn't be there to celebrate. To make matters worse, headquarters had sent someone along with them, as if they weren't capable or to be trusted. Whoever it was he hadn't met the person, but he wasn't so certain he could keep his calm if he saw him or her.

He was up for the dog watch together with their swain, Able Seaman Sarah Allard, and he hoped they would catch _some_ criminal in the act before the morning, just to show they weren't incapable of doing something on their own.

"Hey," he greeted his colleague. "Ready for the night?" he asked.

Outside it was dark and with a quick peek on the radar it seemed they were the only boat in the area.

"Hey," she replied. "I hope I'm not the reason why you're looking so happy," she joked, referring to his foul look on his face.

He walked up to the consul before he answered her. "No, in fact you make dog watch a little bit more bearable. It's the fact we're crash sailed which causes me to miss Gracie's birthday. And I believe it's unnecessary for headquarters to send someone along. That person can't expect my sympathy," he moaned.

"That would be me," he heard a voice behind him.

He turned around and faced Kate, who was sitting in the captain's chair, smiling.

"Don't worry. It wasn't my idea to come along either, but my boss wants to find out what's happening at sea and, with my arm in a sling I'm close to useless in the office," she joked.

Buffer was stunned to see her there, being so candid. "Kate," he almost whispered. "I'm sorry, Captain McGregor," he corrected himself.

She shook her head and tried to make him feel at ease. "It's OK, Buff. We're on a patrol boat. Finally a place where I can be just Kate," she admitted.

"We received coordinates of Krovic's boat. We should be there in a few hours," Kate said, returning to be professional.

She had noticed his irritation and he was going back to being the professional she knew he was. To him she was the Captain and he had to get used to her being not as stiff and formal. Maybe he thought she was here to spy on them. Whatever it was she had to give him the chance to discover it wasn't true.

An hour went by and nothing special happened. They didn't talk much and Buffer wanted some more conversation than the simple instructions or updates he received. When Sarah went down to the galley he sat down next to Kate, who was still sitting down in the captain's chair. They hadn't spent much time together lately and there was a lot they could talk about. He had spoken to Leah, but hadn't had a chance to talk to Kate. Now Sarah was gone he could even try to find out why she was here.

"Ma'am, can I ask you something?" he started a bit unsure.

"Sure," she replied, not sensing his awkwardness yet.

"Can I speak frankly?" he asked.

They were at work and she was his superior, even if he wanted to, he couldn't just ask her why she was here without getting into trouble, not even if they knew each other for over fifteen years.

"Buff we're friends aren't we? Of course you can," Kate replied enthusiastically.

It had been quiet long enough. She was anxious for a talk with one of her old friends. He had had more to do with Leah than with her, but they had a few hours left before they reached the coordinates, so they could finally have a good talk.

"Did you choose to be here?" Buffer asked bluntly.

"What?" Kate exclaimed.

Suddenly she realised why he had asked her to be frank. She knew him, he was never that formal if there wasn't something going on.

"Is that what's bothering you?" she asked.

All kinds of puzzle pieces fell into place; the quietness, his earlier irritation and his question to be frank.

Buffer looked at Kate and wondered if she was playing innocent or if she really didn't know he was wondering why she was here.

"No," he answered her question but then, when she tilted her head slightly he shrugged and decided to be honest. "Well maybe a bit. It feels like headquarters doesn't trust us when they send someone as high ranked as a Captain to check us out. You know, see what we're doing wrong," he said.

"That's a very negative way of looking at it. Headquarters knows you're a good team. Trust me, you wouldn't be here out at sea if you weren't to be trusted," Kate said seriously.

She could understand his feelings but the way he said it, it sounded like he doubted his own ability. It was either that or he wasn't being honest about his true feelings yet. The only thing she could do to make him trust her was to be honest with him.

"The only reason why I'm here is, like I told you and Sarah earlier, my boss doesn't think I'm useful in the office. The Lieutenant who was tasked to come along with you is now doing my paperwork. So, no I didn't choose to be here. Not that I don't like being back out on patrol, but I'd rather be at home right now," she admitted.

"A bit like me," Buffer said quietly.

"Yeah, I heard your girl has her birthday tomorrow," she congratulated him.

"She's going to be seven," he stated proudly.

Kate started smiling. "Great age! Leah is six and I remember James at that age," she reminisced. "He was very different though. Must be the difference between boys and girls," she added.

Buffer wondered why Kate wouldn't want to be out at sea. There was a time she wouldn't want to stay in port too long, but he guessed married life and children had changed her considerably.

"What's the biggest difference?" he challenged her.

"Can I name only one?" she asked.

"Yes," he dared her.

His awkward feeling had totally gone and the light hearted banter they used to have was back and he loved it.

Kate thought for a second. There were so many differences between her children. James was a mini version of his father and so was Leah, but naming 'different DNA' as the biggest difference wasn't very fulfilling.

"Well," she started, still thinking of what to name. "I guess James was very active, always running around and such. Leah loves drawing, being around in the house and she asks many questions," she decided to name as the biggest difference. "Is Gracie like that?" she asked him in return.

"Mine is just like Miss Leah," he answered. "Trisha is preparing herself for puberty. We guess girls are far worse during that time than boys," he added.

Kate gave him a horrid look and shook her head like she didn't want to believe it. "You really think so?" she wanted to know. "I haven't thought of that yet," she had to admit.

"Isn't James hitting puberty yet? I thought he was fourteen. Isn't that the age when they're hitting puberty?" he asked.

Kate was intrigued by the idea of having a girl hitting puberty. Happily Leah wasn't that old yet and she could read books about it before it would actually happen. James was at the right age but physically he wasn't changing that much yet.

"Oh hey wait a minute. He's thirteen! Don't age my child faster than necessary. They're growing up fast enough," she mockingly pretended to be hurt by his little mistake.

"Sorry. Well you've got a while then before he…" he started but Kate cut him off.

"Who told you that fairy tale? Do you think it starts when they're sixteen or something?" She thought for a second and then added: "That or it's just my kid who's early."

Buffer looked perplexed at her and shook his head slowly. "He's growing a beard already?" he asked seriously but he couldn't hide his smile much longer which gained him a punch at his arm.

"Get a life Buff!" Kate exclaimed.

"Of course he hasn't grown a beard yet. Physically he hasn't changed all that much yet. It's more the other interests these kids have. You know what I mean?" she said, hoping she didn't have to elaborate her thinking.

Buffer was enjoying the teasing too much to stop right now and Kate wasn't making it too hard for him.

"I don't have a boy, so I don't," he shrugged as if he said he couldn't possibly know what the problem was.

"You _were_ a boy once!" Kate sighed before she looked at him pleadingly, but it made him stay tight lipped even more. Finally she sighed and let her shoulders drop in defeat. "He told his mates he had sex with his new babysitter," she confessed, ashamed at her son's actions.

A silence fell and Kate looked at Buffer in anticipation. Would he make even more fun of her now or would he be too shocked to find out a son of her was doing something like that? He didn't say anything at all, nor did he laugh. The only thing he did was shrug.

"Oh that," he said as if it was nothing. "I remember those days. Boys always think about sex. I bet he did that to impress his mates."

She was in shock. She had been so ashamed when the principal called and now Buffer made it look like it was a very normal thing to do.

"He did do that," she admitted. "And worse, he did it just as the principal walked by," she added to make him see the severity of the case.

"Good grief," Buffer chuckled. The situation sounded so trivial and he guessed the principal had made it all far worse than necessary. He could understand why Kate felt so ashamed but at the same time this was nothing and in time she would be able to laugh about it as well.

"The only thing he has to do is to perfect his timing," he joked, looking at Kate to see her reaction.

"It's not funny. I got a phone call from the school and had to pick him up," she threw at him, but then she realised he was mocking her and she shook her head laughingly.

"Wait," she said, grabbing his arm and make him face her. "You want to say that guys _always_ think about sex? Do they brag about it?" she asked him.

By Buffer's reaction Kate saw she had him at a weak spot. She had been able to turn around the conversation and she was going to grill him while she could.

"Maybe not all the time, but it's a very important part of our life," he answered with a straight face.

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you, but you were once the talk of the Hammersley. Men love to fantasise about women or better, about sex with women and you were in many of the sailor's fantasies," he said.

This was not what she wanted to hear, even if she had known all along. In retrospect it wasn't even that weird since the female sailors did exactly the same but then about all the hot males on board. Still, Buffer had managed to turn the conversation again, making her feel embarrassed. She had to do something to give him that same feeling. She looked at him and remembered the talks that had been going around Hammersley about a relationship between Buffer and herself.

"Buff, did you fantasise about me as well?" she asked him seductively.

He hadn't expected this question and it threw him a bit off guard. He felt his cheeks burn and knew that the answer was already written on his face.

"Once or twice," he admitted, not daring to look at her.

She laughed triumphantly and got out of the captain's chair to walk towards the EOD to check it. She clearly enjoyed this 'game' they were playing, he realised. It was a Kate McGregor he hadn't seen much of before.

"You want to know what I dreamed off?" he teased her.

"Nope," she answered resolutely. "That would be too much information, but back to the actual topic. I shouldn't punish James too hard because he's a boy and doesn't know any better?" she asked him.

Buffer laughed but picked up on her silent question to stop the teasing. "I didn't say that," he defended himself. "He should know to respect women. It's OK to fantasise and discuss that with friends. It's not alright to talk about women as objects, nor tell lies," he stated.

"Right," she confirmed.

"So what was his punishment?" he asked after there was a short period of silence.

Kate thought of the night when Vicky had come to babysit and they had told her to sit down. James was reluctant but understood he couldn't get away from this.

"He had to tell her what he had told his friends," she answered.

Buffer thought that was the perfect punishment for a thirteen year old. He wouldn't do something like that again if he saw her pain. "How did she take that?" he wanted to know.

Kate shook her head as if she still couldn't believe it. "Remarkably well. I thought she would pack her bags and we would never see her again, but she stayed, patted him on his head, said she thought he was a nice boy but she didn't love him like that," she answered.

"She took that _very_ well," Buffer said, impressed.

"Yeah, she…" Kate said, but a beep on the radar interrupted her.

"Buff can you see anything on the EOD?" she asked.

"No, it's strange. We should see something. We're not that far away," he answered.

Kate pulled her arm out of the sling so she could move around more easily. She hadn't noticed it yet, but Sarah was away for a long time and they really needed her now.

"Buff take the helm," she ordered him, but before he could move Sarah returned with three mugs of coffee.

"Brews," Sarah announced enthusiastically.

"Forget about that for a second and take the helm," Kate ordered her instead. "Buff you take the EOD and you better call the CO to the bridge," she added.

Finally something was happening.

On the radar Buffer saw a dot and when he looked closer he saw it was the boat they were supposed to track. It was closer than they had expected it to be, but no one cared about that now.

"Buff?" he heard Kate call out to him. He turned his head towards her with a questioning look. He had been looking at the radar and had missed a possible question. "What do you see on the EOD?" she asked him.

He heard the accusing tone in her voice and felt bad straight away. He wanted to show her he was capable and this was not the way to do it.

"Captain has the ship," Lieutenant Commander Storms announced, entering the bridge.

Kate was higher ranked but it was his ship and she couldn't do much else then get out of the captain's chair and go back to observing.

Buffer looked at him, wondering if he should still tell her what was on the EOD, but before he could do so Storms said: "Buffer tell me the situation."

Buffer told Storms everything he wanted to know and then stood next to Kate. She looked at the EOD herself, but was seemingly bewildered. "We're only sixty clicks away. He should notice us but he's not moving at all. This makes no sense at all," she said.

"Keep following him," Storms ordered before he looked at Kate. "I'm sorry Captain. I guess you were doing this job perfectly before I came up," he apologised.

"No worries. It's your ship. I'm here to observe. I've had a few hours of command and that will last me for a long time," she replied.

Secretly she wouldn't mind if she could extend that period of time but Storms didn't have to apologise for doing his job.

"Let's get this criminal," she cheered, taking a step backwards to show she meant what she had said.

Storms took seat in the captain's chair and looked at Buffer. "Has he noticed us?" he wondered.

Buffer looked at the radar and shrugged. "He must have. We're close enough to be detected by him. He has shown us all throughout the past weeks that he's smart, but at the same time he's not running away right now," he answered.

Kate tried to look at the radar without being in the way. She had wondered about that as well. Slatan Krovic either knew his time was up or he was asleep and they could get him as easily as that. Kate simply hoped for a quick arrest so they could go home. Firstly she could tell Commodore Atkins she had been there to arrest the criminal. Secondly she could go home to spend time with her son, daughter and of course, husband. Thirdly she wished they could go home swiftly so Buffer could be there when Gracie was blowing out her candles.

"What!" Buffer exclaimed, pulling Kate from her musings. "He's coming straight at us!" he yelled.

Suddenly there was an eruption of movement on the bridge. Everyone was prepared to act.

"Buffer, what do you see on the EOD?" Storms asked.

Kate looked at the EOD and was amazed she couldn't see anything. The first beams of sunlight were there to illuminate the water, but where she was looking, there was nothing to see. Buffer moved the camera of the EOD to the left and back to the right, zooming in and out to try and locate the ship that was heading straight towards them.

"There's nothing sir," he said, sounding irritated.

Buffer looked at the radar again to see if that device was finally showing something to explain what was going on, but it still beeped with a dot that was rapidly coming closer. The 'boat' had reached them up until a few nautical miles. The gunner was outside, ready to shoot and he looked at the typhoon as if he wanted to ask if he should prepare himself to shoot.

"He's slowing down," Lieutenant Commander Storms said from the captain's chair.

Kate felt her heart thumping, but couldn't make herself look away. She wanted to see the guy who had caused all this trouble. She took a set of binoculars and stared over the sea and then she saw it.

"Oh no," she sighed. "Please don't let this be true."

Buffer looked at his former XO before he looked outside.

"How in the world?" he stammered.

Everyone moved towards the window and then, like an eruption from the water there it was.

"A whale!" Storms yelled. "We've been chasing a whale!"

Buffer started to laugh. It was too funny not to laugh, but he stopped when he saw Kate looking forlornly out of the window.

"Ma'am," he started as he walked towards her. "Don't you think it's funny?" he asked.

She shook her head. "How in the world am I going to tell my boss we've been chasing a whale?" she murmured.

"Don't worry about it now, just laugh!" he smiled.

Sydney, June 1, 2044

"And that's the story on how we caught the one and only criminal whale in history," Pete Tomaszweski said to the audience with a smile on his face. "I do remember coming back in port and having to face your boss," he said, looking straight at Kate who was sitting on her chair, hiding her laugh, or was it her embarrassment?

Pete shook his own laughter away and looked at his paper. He had told everything he wanted to tell tonight. After their ordeal they had stayed in touch over the past twenty years.

"Did we ever catch that Krovic bloke?" he suddenly thought out loud. He looked at Kate who was thinking about his question.

"No, not that I can remember," she finally answered. "We're still investigating how Krovic was able to place the tracker on the whale's tail," she jokingly added.

Many people started to laugh and Pete shook his head. He was glad Kate had become part of his life. Up until this day he was still having great conversations with 'Miss Leah'. He had become her confidant and it still made him proud. He looked at the young woman, sitting a few chairs away from her mother. Leah had turned twenty-five last November, had a promising doctor's career ahead of her and luckily for her in a steady relationship.

Sitting next to Leah was James. The boy had grown into a wonderful man, scarily enough, almost a clone of his dad.

"James, you played a major part in my story and I hope you didn't mind me telling about your early love life," he joked.

James took the hand of the woman sitting next to him in his own and patted it a few times. "My wife knows we've all been young once," he answered.

"Good," Pete smiled. "Then she won't mind me saying that I wouldn't have minded having you as my son-in-law," he admitted.

Kate looked at her son in disbelief and started shaking her head.

"Sorry Kate, I didn't know you didn't know this piece of information. I must admit it's a while ago. I would say almost ten years ago," he explained hastily. "Your son and my daughter dated each other for a full week before they realised it wasn't working," he joked.

He could continue telling stories for hours, but the next speaker was already waiting underneath the little stairs so Pete knew his time was up.

"I'll refrain you from any other family secrets. If you want to know them anyhow you do have my phone number. Now you're retired you probably have time to spare," he said before grabbing his paper from the stand and left the stage.


End file.
